But the Awami League chief's seemingly inflexible attitude—not to join parliament—and her subsequent ultimatum to the chief election commissioner to "cancel the results by October 10 or else..." has raised fears of renewed instability that has haunted this nation through much of its history. It's unlikely that the commission would give in but the Awami League's threat to boycott parliament could deal a severe blow to the fragile democracy that had just begun to take roots—after nearly two decades of military and quasi-military rule—after the last dictator, Gen Hussain Mohammad Ershad, was swept out in 1990.
Although the caretaker government's role in conducting the election was mired in controversy, Sheikh Hasina's claim of widespread fraud in the polls...
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