Bangladesh goes to the polls today for the first time since 2001 in elections that will bring democratic rule back to the impoverished nation after two years under an army-backed regime.
Across the densely populated country, an unprecedented security operation was under way to curb election fraud and prevent attacks by Islamic extremists.
Some 600,000 police officers were deployed to 35,000 polling booths and 50,000 troops were present on the streets.
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.
“We have seen a radical change in the behavior of the parties during election campaigning,” Bangladeshi Election Commission Secretary Humayun Kabir said. “Except for some minor incidents, there has been little violence. We are confident the election will be the best in the country’s history.”
But with a third of the 81 million electorate voting for the first time, the result is uncertain, with disputes likely if the overall winner is unclear and re-counts are demanded.
The two main political leaders spent Saturday criss-crossing the country in a final appeal for votes, promising to lower food prices, fight Islamic militancy and curb corruption.
After just 16 days of frenetic campaigning, Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League and her bitter rival Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) — both gave speeches on national television.
The women, who were jailed on corruption charges by the current caretaker regime but then released to contest the elections, sought to woo undecided voters by expressing remorse over their past records.
“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. I am human. Mistakes get made.”
Sheikh Hasina, meanwhile, said she would end hunger and poverty in the grindingly poor country of 144 million people, promising to learn not only from mistakes made by her rivals but from her own errors.
“I urge the younger voters to bring us to power so we can build a country free of hunger and poverty. We want to steer the country to peace and prosperity,” she said.
The women, nicknamed the “battling begums” for their intense personal rivalry, have dominated Bangladesh’s political scene for the past two decades.
Ahead of the vote, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for peace to be maintained.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS