Dhaka: Fresh uncertainty shrouded Bangladesh's turbulent political scene on Saturday after a presidential spokesman said the man chosen to act as interim head of government was too ill to take the oath of office.
Former Supreme Court chief justice K M Hasan was to have been sworn in as caretaker leader on Saturday, taking over from Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia whose five-year mandate ended on Friday.
A general election is due in January.
The stage had been set for Hasan to step in despite vociferous opposition charges that he was biased in favour of the government and thus unsuitable to organise the elections.
But a presidential spokesman said late on Friday night that Hasan was ill and unable to take the oath.
''A time for the swearing-in ceremony has yet to be set, but we are ready,'' said the spokesman. He did not explain the nature of Hasan's illness.
Street battles broke out between rival political activists on Friday evening after Prime Minister Khaleda finished her farewell address on state television, when she called for peace once she steps down on Saturday.
Protesters blocked highways, burned vehicles, attacked offices of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the homes of some ministers, police and witnesses said.
At least six people were killed and more than 200 injured in the mayhem that continued past midnight.
A 14-party opposition alliance led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina strongly opposes Khaleda's plan to install Hasan as interim administrator, citing his past association with the BNP.
They vowed to paralyse the country from Saturday if the government went ahead with the plan, and urged President Iajuddin Ahmed not to swear Hasan in to avert a worse political crisis.
The opposition also called on Hasan to refuse the post.
''We hope K M Hasan will be able to assess the gravity of the situation'' and turn down the caretaker job, said Tofayel Ahmed, one of the leaders of Hasina's Awami League.
Hasan's sudden illness, which newspapers said could indicate his unwillingness to accept the job, has added to the political uncertainty.
Constitutionally, Hasan, the immediate past chief justice, is the right person to head a 10-member caretaker administration to supervise the January elections.
An alternative choice could be made only if Hasan was reluctant or considered unfit for whatever reason, legal experts said.
The capital Dhaka appeared largely deserted on Saturday with very few vehicles moving under the watchful eyes of massed riot police and paramilitary troops, a Reuters cameraman said.
Hundreds of travellers unable to reach the city on Friday because of the violence were trying to enter the city on foot early on Saturday, he said.
''We are facing a very volatile and unpredictable situation,'' one police officer said. ''The uncertainties are lingering and tension deepening.''
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