By virtue of the electron-donating and electron-withdrawing properties of the thiazole ring, a new soluble rigid-rod organometallic polymer containing elecrtron-donating and electron-withdrawing trans-[-Pt-(PBu3)(2)-C=C-R-C=C-](n) (R = bithiazolediyl) groups is prepared by CuI-catalyzed dehydrohalogenation. The thermal properties and the optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra of the polymer are reported. The polymer with a singlet emission peak at 539 nm and photoconducting in a single-layer sandwich structure photocell. The optical gap of the polymer is reduced compared to that for the oligothienyl analogue.