Low Turnout In Bangladesh Elections; 6 Killed In Violence

New Delhi, Jan 5, IRNA - Bangladesh's violence-plagued general elections, being boycotted by opposition Bangladesh Nationalists Party (BNP)-led alliance, Sunday witnessed low turn out in initial hours amid heavy security. Voters preferred to stay indoor fearing the violence that had claimed six lives in the past 12 hours. Polling began at 0800 hours local time in 147 out of 300 constituencies in 59 districts of Bangladesh, pti reported quoting officials. Paramilitary border guards and elite Rapid Action Battalion forces were deployed along with police as 390 candidates of mostly ruling Awami League and its ally Jatiya Party were contesting for the 147 seats in the one- sided election, being closely watched by India and the world powers. There is no election in remaining 153 constituencies which have returned winners without a contest, as opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led 18 party alliance is boycotting the polls. The voting in 147 constituencies where the number of voters is nearly 44,000,000 is very low, with the turnout being almost zero per cent at several polling centres in initial hours. A poor turnout would give the opposition the chance to question the legitimacy of todays parliament elections. A similar poll in 1996, boycotted by the opposition which was the Awami League, witnessed a mere 7 per cent turnout and forced Khaleda Zia-led BNP government to call for fresh polls within months under a neutral non-party caretaker system. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed has said the huge deployment of security forces will give confidence to the voters and enable them to go and vote. Officials said over 375,000 security personnel were deployed across Bangladesh to maintain peace and nearly 50,000 army troops were kept on vigil as striking force. But voting was suspended at 136 centres due to torching of polling booths and snatching of ballot boxes and papers. Opposition activists are burning down polling stations and attacking public transport in a bid to keep voters away from the polls. The BNP-led opposition had demanded postponement of the polls and setting up of a non-party caretaker government, but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rejected the demands. Political violence during strikes enforced by the opposition since November have left nearly 140 people dead. Hours before the start of voting, suspected opposition activists hacked to death an assistant presiding officer of a polling centre in north-western Thakurgaon while five others were killed in clashes with police across the country. Five policemen were also injured. The northwestern districts appeared to be major trouble spots as the voting began with reports of violent clashes and attacks on polling centres. The authorities suspended polling at more than a dozen makeshift voting centres after opposition activists set those facilities on fire. BNP chairperson Zia and her exiled son and partys senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman have separately issued clarion calls to boycott the polls. Prime Minister Hasina had last week said that despite her sincere efforts, BNP declined to contest the polls which must be held to evade a constitutional vacuum after the expiry of the 10th parliament on January 24. She asked people to cast their votes without fear for continuity of the constitutional process. She, however, hinted that the 10th parliament to be installed after the elections could be short-lived to pave ways for the 11th general election after talks with BNP if it cut off ties with Jamaat, which was opposed to Bangladesh's 1971 independence from Pakistan./end