31.   Mrs. Zia has rejected the demand as unconstitutional and has planned the election, ignoring the opposition boycott.

32.   On Sunday, two High Court judges held the opposition boycott illegal and told the lawmakers to return to Parliament when it meets again in February.

33.   Presidential elections open despite opposition boycott.

34.   Talks between Qayyum and the federal government, however, appear to have quelled a potential opposition boycott of voting in Kashmir, The News said.

35.   The crisis arising out of the opposition boycott of Parliament has led to routine protests nationwide and disrupted the economy.

36.   The government Saturday rejected an initiative by businessmen to end nine-month-long political crisis created by the opposition boycott of Parliament.

37.   The nine-month opposition boycott of Parliament and the political standoff has threatened the survival of democracy in impoverished Bangladesh.

38.   The opposition boycott raised the possibility that President Carlos Menem may put the controversial legislation in place via executive decree.

39.   Voting opened slowly Sunday in legislative elections in Ivory Coast, where an opposition boycott and fears of violence kept many people at home.

40.   Haitian voters began casting ballots Sunday in a presidential election that was expected to give former prime minister Rene Preval a clear victory despite an opposition boycott.