Leaders of the Ganatantra Mancha on Thursday urged the interim government to take appropriate steps to hold the next general election in February, overcoming all the obstacles.

The Mancha, a combine of five political parties, made the call at a discussion in the National Press Club in Dhaka.

Addressing the discussion as the chair, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD general secretary Shahid Uddin Mahmod Shapon said that the people of the country were eagerly waiting to cast their votes in the national election in February.

Nagarik Oikya president Mahmudur Rahman Manna said that there was no major obstacle against holding the next general election in February, as most of the political parties wanted the election in February.

Revolutionary Workers Party general secretary Saiful Huq said that the next general election must be held in February for an earlydemocratic transition of the country.

The country will face a critical political crisis if the government fails to hold the election in February, he said.

Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki alleged that some Islamic political parties were trying to delay the election, expected to be held in February.

Bhashani Janashikti Party chairman Sheikh Rafiqul Islam Bablu said that the interim government had failed to fulfil the spirit of the July uprising.