UPDATE 1-Bangladesh invites parties for election talks

(Adds Awami League sets preconditions)

By Nizam Ahmed

DHAKA, May 14 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's army-backed interim government invited political parties for talks on elections planned for December, while pressing on with the prosecution of two detained former prime ministers.

Supporters of ex-prime ministers Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina have been demanding their release ahead of the polls, but the army-backed interim administration has said the law will take its own course and that the conduct of elections was not linked with the trials of the leaders.

"We have started inviting party leaders," said Fahim Munaim, chief spokesman for leader of the interim administration Fakhruddin Ahmad.

The talks will cover election details, preparations and security concerns, officials said.

Hasina's Awami League and Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party -- the nation's two main parties -- say talks with the government and the election commission on the elections were pointless without the participation of their leaders.

The Awami League said on Wednesday it has six preconditions before the talks can take place, including the release of Hasina, the withdrawal of the state of emergency, and the announcement of an election schedule.

"We have set up the preconditions because we think without Sheikh Hasina, the talks will be meaningless," Syed Ashraful Islam, acting general secretary of Awami League, told reporters after a meeting of party leaders.