A top State Department official said Friday the United States wanted to see a democratically-elected government running Bangladesh from 2009 following the completion of a general election by the year end.
At the end of a two-day visit to Bangladesh, the Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher said the US expected guarantees for a sustainable democracy from institutions like the Election Commission, the Human Rights Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
"We want to see that the guarantees on democracy are put in place so that it continues on a stable basis," said Boucher.
Boucher said Bangladesh was on the path to restoring democracy and it was important to see the path completed by the end of the year to allow an elected government to emerge.
After talks with Bangladeshi government leaders, including de facto prime minister Fakhruddin Ahmad and Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain, Boucher praised Bangladesh for its successes in combatting terrorism.
Boucher told reporters that a stable democracy could not be achieved without stability in the campaign against extremists, dpa reported.