Polls open in Bangladesh general election amid tight security
Elections
Voting for the general elections in Bangladesh, to elect the country's next prime minister, beganat 8:00 am on Sunday.
Over 10 crore Bangladeshis are expected tovote in the single-phase general election in the country's 11th national parliamentary election.
Polls opened at 08:00 am (0200 GMT) amid tight security following a campaign that was marred by violence and allegations of a government crackdown on opposition activists.
Around600,000 security personnelwere deployedin the country ahead of the polls.
The elections areexpected to deliver a record fourth term to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The primary Opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is in a state of disarray owing to the absence of two of its top leaders.
Main opposition leaderKhaleda Zia, who is serving a 10-year jail sentence on corruption charges, has been barred from contesting.
Her son, BNP's acting chief, Tarique Rahman is on an exile in London after a Bangladesh court sentenced him to life in jail for masterminding a grenade attack in 2004 that killed 24 Awami League leaders and activists.
The emergence of the National Unity Forum as a joint Opposition platform was a landmark event in Bangladesh's political front this year after Zia's imprisonment in February.
Meanwhile, in Zia's absence, it is Kamal Hossain who is giving a tough fight to PM Sheikh Hasina and the ruling Awami League.