It also apprehends that BNP-Jamaat-led ruling alliance candidates will use black money and muscle in the upcoming election scheduled for early next year.

Workers' Party President Rashed Khan Menon told The Daily Star, "The main challenge for us is to hold a free, fair and neutral election where the people can exercise their constitutional right to franchise in the face of a politicised administration, black money, and criminal activities by militant forces."

The opposition coalition, especially the high-command of its principal component AL, believes that if they participate in the next election without the proposed electoral reforms implemented, they have a little chance of winning it as, according to their claim, the present government has already in place all the mechanisms of 'election engineering' in a bid to return to power again.

"Even if the electoral reforms are implemented, the situation will remain against us because of the BNP-Jamaat-led government's thorough election engineering," AL Presidium Member Tofail Ahmed said.

He told The Daily Star that the challenges will exert themselves more powerfully during the pre-election period. "But we believe all the conspiracies and challenges can be overcome through mass movements," he added.

The AL leadership believes that the government has politicised all the sectors including the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat, district election offices as well as upazila election offices across the country to make sure the ruling alliance's return to power through rigging the next election.

The chief election commissioner (CEC), two other election commissioners and the EC secretary alongside about 20 district officers and 300 upazila election officers are seen by senior opposition leaders as politically appointed by the BNP-led alliance government as part of its 'election engineering process'.

They also see Justice KM Hasan, who was a leader of BNP, as either politically loyal to BNP or against AL now, and expect him to be the head of the next caretaker government.

The entire AL leadership including its President Sheikh Hasina criticises Justice Hasan for being 'too embarrassed to hold a hearing of the case in connection with the murder of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman', and believes that he will not perform the duties of the head of the caretaker government neutrally.

Believing that Justice KM Hasan will obviously favour the BNP-Jamaat alliance in the next election, the opposition coalition has long been demanding not to make him the head of the next caretaker government.

President Iajuddin Ahmed, appointed by BNP, will also serve the ruling alliance by all means to ensure its victory again, the opposition leaders observed. They believe that the president, who will have the supreme power to deal with everything including the armed forces during the election, might use the army against the opposition.

The armed forces, who are usually deployed a few days ahead of the election, have also been politicised by the government and to that end the present government made a loyalist the chief of army staff without regard for seniority, the opposition leaders said adding that they believe the armed forces will perform against them in the next election.

Deputy commissioners (DC), thana nirbahi officers (TNO) and other thana level officers, who will work on the election day as returning officers and assistant returning officers, appointed by the government, will also favour the BNP-Jamaat alliance 'just like in the past election', the opposition leaders think.

They said the government has already appointed at least 50 DCs, a number of TNOs and other thana level officers on political considerations as part of the ruling alliance's election engineering process.

The opposition coalition fears that the 'widely politicised' police administration will also favour the BNP-Jamaat alliance as the government has appointed a large number of activists of BNP's student front Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) as police officials.

It alleges that the law enforcers including Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), created by the present government, have already begun harassing opposition leaders and activists and the minority communities. It believes that the harassments and threats will gain momentum as the election day nears.

After assassinations of former finance minister also former AL lawmaker Shah AMS Kibria, and lawmakers Ahsanullah Master and Momtaz Uddin, and the assassination attempt on Hasina at an AL rally on August 21, 2004 which left 24 leaders and activists killed, the opposition leadership fears that such attempts might be made again ahead of the election.

The apprehension has currency among the opposition leaders as the investigations of the cases in connection with the killings, the grenade attack, and the arms hauls at Bogra and Chittagong still did not see any mentionable progress.

Moreover, they believe that the rise of militancy in the country is the present government's creation and it is still patronising the militants with an intention to use the fanatics in the next election to have political gain.

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haque Inu said the government will use around 5,000 militants still at large and different outlawed organisations in the south-western region of the country against the opposition coalition in the next election.

"Even if the electoral reforms are implemented, holding a free and fair election will not be possible until the politicised police and civil administration is cleansed, and use of black money and rise of militancy is thwarted ahead of the next election," Inu said.

He however added that these problems will have to be sorted out through discussions, off course, ahead of the election.

Persons affiliated with the BNP-Jamaat alliance looted tens of thousands of taka from the people in various ways including hiking up the prices of essentials through syndication and by collecting tolls from all kinds of construction and development works, the opposition leaders believe, and fear that the 'black money' will be used in crooked ways against the opposition in the next election. They also fear that the ruling alliance will patronise local criminals with the 'looted money' against the 14-party.

Talking to The Daily Star a number of senior opposition leaders said these challenges are understandable as the government has decorated the administration with at least five layers of flunkeys to rig the next election. In addition to all these conspiracies they will have to face national and international intrigues and intra-party feuds, the leaders added.

They see no solution to these problems except implementation of the proposed reforms in the system of caretaker government and the Election Commission (EC), which they believe will help to obliterate most of the barriers to a free, fair and neutral election.

But still the politicised administration will remain untouched, working for the BNP-Jamaat alliance as its last aide.

The AL will form committees at every polling centre to monitor whether the voters can exercise their right to franchise properly. It will also form Vote Protection Committees, like the one created by Chittagong City Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury in the last city corporation election there, to guard the places where votes will be counted and from where the results will be declared, so that the administration cannot manipulate any of them.

The opposition coalition has also plans to dispute the result of any poll if its agents are thrown out or threatened by any means. And finally, the High Court will be the opposition's last resort if any untoward incident takes place regarding counting of the votes and announcements of the results. Senior lawyers have already talked to 14-party Coordinator Abdul Jalil regarding the matter recently.