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Bangladesh votes two years after cancelled elections
AFP - 2 hours 54 minutes ago
DHAKA (AFP) - - Bangladesh was to vote under tight security Monday in the first elections since campaign violence two years ago caused polls to be cancelled and an army-backed government to take power.
Despite attempts by the caretaker regime to shake up the country's political system, the two leading candidates are the fierce rivals who have ruled alternately since 1991.
A state of emergency was lifted less than two weeks before voting, while a heavy security operation has been mounted to prevent clashes between rival supporters and feared attacks by Islamic extremists.
Armed troops lining the streets of the capital Dhaka were among 50,000 on alert nationwide, while 600,000 police officers were deployed across the country to ensure no disruptions or voter fraud at the 35,000 polling booths.
Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) both wooed voters with last-minute promises of lower food prices, action against Islamic militancy and curbs on corruption.
The women, who were themselves jailed on corruption charges by the current caretaker regime but then released to contest the elections , ended campaigning with televised speeches that pledged a new style of politics.
"I know you are aware of our mistakes," Zia said in her speech. "I ask for your forgiveness. I can assure you that we will take lessons from the past."
Sheikh Hasina vowed to end hunger and poverty in the grindingly poor country of 144 million people, and promised to learn from past errors.
"We want to steer the country to peace and prosperity," she said.
With a third of the 81 million electorate voting for the first time, the result remained uncertain, leading to concern that if no clear winner emerges a smooth transfer of power could prove tricky.
Police have captured two dozen militants and seized explosives, grenades and bombs in recent days, but campaigning has been free of the widespread violence seen in past elections.
Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, the former banker who has run Bangladesh under an interim administration for the last two years, on Sunday urged the nation to use its vote wisely.
"You must remember that you cast a vote on one day, but live with the results for five years," he said. "We hope everyone will accept the election results without hesitation or doubt."
Ahead of the vote, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged all political parties to accept the result and to "work together in a spirit of dialogue and compromise."
In one of the few violent incidents, protesters on Saturday hurled stones at the motorcade of former military dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who heads the small Jatiya Party.
Elsewhere minor fighting erupted between rival Awami League and BNP supporters, but the hot tempers on show in previous elections have been largely absent.
Hours before the polls opened, national police chief Nur Mohammad warned that his men would "take drastic action if anyone dares to create any violence."
The army-backed government took power in January 2007 after months of political violence, which killed at least 35 people.
The unrest prompted President Iajuddin Ahmed to cancel elections and impose the state of emergency, which was lifted only on December 17.
Bangladesh has a long history of coups and counter-coups since winning independence from Pakistan in 1971.
The Awami League and the BNP have often been accused of anti-democratic tactics, with both crippling the country during their spells in opposition by boycotting parliament and staging national strikes.
The winner of Monday's election, either a single party or a coalition, needs a simple majority of the 300 seats in the National Assembly.
Results are expected throughout the night, with voting patterns hard to predict due to a new digital electoral roll that eliminated 12.7 million fake names.
Some 200,000 electoral observers, including 2,500 from abroad, are monitoring the elections.
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