The mainstream opposition will hold a rally at Paltan Maidan on January 23 from where the opposition leader is expected to declare whether they will return to parliament.

The opposition block has announced a daylong hartal across the country on January 22 against the appointment of Justice Mahfuzur Rahman and SM Zakaria as election commissioners what they termed a "bid to manipulate the next parliamentary elections".

The alliance will also hold a rally in Sylhet on February 1.

The announced agitation programmes will end with a long march to Dhaka on February 5, demanding an end to the BNP-Jamaat regime.

The opposition parties will gather at Muktangon in the capital this afternoon and bring out a procession led by top leaders of the alliance.

Senior Awami League leaders yesterday held a joint meeting with leaders of the party's front organisations and asked them to make the agitation programmes successful.

The Paltan rally on January 23 will coincide with the first sitting of the parliament of the year.

Meanwhile, almost all the AL parliament members including the party chief and Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina have skipped House proceedings for over 70 working days while absence in parliament for 90 consecutive days will result in loosing their membership.

Addressing a joint meeting of different front organisations, AL leaders yesterday asked them to prepare for an all-out movement to force the BNP-Jamaat-led coalition to quit.

They said the situation has reached at the point of no return and there is no alternative to strengthen the ongoing street agitation.

Held at the AL's central office on Bangabandhu Avenue, the meeting was presided over by AL Presidium Member Sajeda Chowdhury, where AL leaders Abdul Jalil, Tofail Ahmed, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and Obaidul Quader addressed.

Senior AL leaders also suggested the Dhaka city unit of the AL to resolve its internal crisis quickly for the sake of strengthening movement in the capital.