The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Tuesday committed to strengthen the country’s democracy through working with the opposition in parliament for building a modern Bangladesh.

‘Our leader Sheikh Hasina hoped that all in the treasury bench and the opposition together would build a modern and prosperous Bangladesh,’ co-chairman of the AL election steering committee, HT Imam, told newsmen at Hasina’s Sudha Sadan residence, after a meeting of the AL chief with the United Nations election observers team.

Imam said the delegation comprising the polls observers of European Union, Commonwealth, National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute, called on Sheikh Hasina to greet her on the grand alliance’s landslide victory in the parliamentary election.

During the meeting, the AL chief expressed her desire for decentralising power though forming upazila and district councils.

Imam, also a former cabinet secretary, urged the Election Commission to defer the last date of withdrawing nominations for the upazila polls, which was scheduled for Wednesday. He also called for publishing gazette notification of the parliamentary election results as soon as possible.

Howard B Schaffer, team leader of the 12-member UN delegation of polls observers, expressed their satisfaction over holding of the polls in free and fair manner on Monday.

Later, the delegation of election observers from Japan also met Sheikh Hasina at her Sudah Sadan residence.

Earlier in the morning, hundreds of Awami League leaders and activists thronged Sudha Sadan residence of Sheikh Hasina to congratulate her on the grand alliance’s massive victory.

They carried with them garlands and replica of Awami League’s election symbol ‘boat’ decorated with flowers to present their party chief.

Among the party leaders, Abdur Razzak, Maj Gen (retd) Subid Ali Bhuiyan, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Aslamul Huq Aslam and Ilyas Uddin Mollah and Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon.