Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) Monday deferred the polling date for the country's national election to Dec. 30 from Dec. 23.

Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda made the announcement at a program in capital Dhaka, saying the commission welcomes the opposition alliance's decision to participate in the polls.

The major opposition alliance led by ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Sunday urged the Election Commission to defer the election date by a month.

BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir Sunday said their alliance decided to contest the parliamentary polls, urging the government to ensure a level playing field for holding a free, fair and neutral election.

The Bangladesh Awami League (AL) party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which rose to power with a landslide election victory in early 2009 and won its second term in 2014, is facing challenges from Khaleda Zia's BNP and its allies, which boycotted the 2014 elections.