DHAKA: Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appeared headed for a landslide win in a general
election yesterday marred by opposition claims of rigged voting as 14 people
were killed in clashes between rival supporters. Early results showed Hasina
racing into a clear lead, winning each of the first 29 seats declared - some by
tens of thousands of votes - according to Channel 24, which is compiling
results from around the country.

The deadly
violence and bitter rivalry that marred the election campaign spilled over into
voting day, even as authorities imposed tight security with 600,000 troops,
police and other security forces deployed across the country. Ten people were
killed in clashes between Hasina's ruling Awami League party and supporters of
the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, police said, while three men
were shot by police who said they were protecting polling booths. An auxiliary
police member was also killed by armed opposition activists, according to
officials.

Hasina, 71, has
been lauded for boosting economic growth in the poor South Asian nation during
her decade in power and for welcoming Rohingya refugees fleeing a military
crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar. But critics accuse her of authoritarianism
and crippling the opposition - including archrival Khaleda Zia who is serving
17 years in prison on graft charges - to cling on to power.

The BNP-led
opposition alliance yesterday accused Hasina's party of using stuffed ballot
boxes and other illegal means to fix the result, which was to be announced
today. BNP spokesman Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal told reporters there were
"irregularities" in 221 of the 300 seats contested. Its Islamist ally
Jamaat-e-Islami said it would reject the results. "Voters are not allowed
to enter booths. Especially women voters are being forced to vote for the
boat," Alal said, referring to the Awami League symbol.

'We'll cast your
vote'

Bangladesh
election commission spokesman S M Asaduzzaman told AFP the body had
"received a few allegations of irregularities" and was investigating.
Authorities ordered mobile operators to shut down high speed Internet services
until midnight Sunday "to prevent the spread of rumors" that could
trigger unrest. One independent television news channel complained that its
broadcasts were blocked.

Voting in the
capital Dhaka was largely peaceful as convoys of soldiers and paramilitary
forces were on the streets where most traffic was banned. "I have never
missed voting in my life. This is probably the last election for me and I want
a suitable candidate for my country," 98-year-old Abdus Salam said at a
Dhaka polling station. However voters in provincial areas reported
intimidation. Atiar Rahman said he was beaten by ruling party activists in the
central district of Narayanganj. "They told me not to bother, 'We'll cast
your vote on your behalf'," he told AFP.

The opposition
said the unrest was stirred up to deter voters, and presiding officers reported
a low turnout across the country. Yesterday's deaths brought to 18 the official
police toll for election violence since the ballot was announced on Nov 8.
Police said they acted "in self-defence" in the southern town of
Bashkhali, when they fired on opposition supporters who stormed a polling
booth, killing one. In a separate incident a man was shot by police after he
tried to steal a ballot box.

Free and fair?

Hasina needs 151
seats to control parliament but experts say a victory would be sullied by
accusations that she hamstrung opponents. The opposition says more than 15,000
of its activists were detained during the campaign, crushing its ability to
mobilize support. Human Rights Watch and other international groups said the
crackdown created a climate of fear which could prevent opposition supporters
from casting ballots.

The United States
raised concerns about the credibility of the election while the United Nations
called for greater efforts to make the vote fair. Seventeen opposition
candidates have been arrested over what they claim are trumped-up charges while
another 17 were disqualified from running by courts, which Hasina's opponents
say are government controlled. The Bangladeshi leadership has alternated
between Hasina and Zia, allies-turned-foes, over the last three decades.

Hasina rejects
accusations of authoritarianism but analysts say she feared young voters would
support the BNP. Her government was criticized this year for its heavy handling
of weeks of major student protests that brought Dhaka to a standstill. Hasina,
daughter of Bangladesh's first president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was gifted
victory in the 2014 election when the BNP boycotted the vote claiming it was
not free and fair. Rights groups have since accused her administration of
stifling freedom of speech by toughening a draconian anti-press law and the
enforced disappearance of dissenters. - AFP