Bangladesh elections: Only 18.5% of voters turned out until noon amid opposition boycott

ADDS DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Bangladesh reported low turnout amid a boycott of the general elections by the main opposition political parties, with only 18.5% of registered voters balloting as of Sunday noon.

However, the election authority believed that the number of voters would increase before the polls closed.

Bangladesh Election Commission Secretary Md. Jahangir Alam told reporters in Dhaka that "an average of 18.5% of voters has cast their ballots across the country in half of the voting period until noon."

The voting, which began at 8 a.m. (0200GMT), will continue until 4 p.m. (1000GMT). Around 120 million voters are registered to take part in polls to elect 300 lawmakers to the parliament, locally known as the Sansad.

The capital Dhaka has received 17% of the vote so far, he added.

There are reports of violence in 37 regions throughout the country, with five people arrested as a result of those incidents, according to the election authority.

A ruling party supporter was hacked to death in central Munshiganj-3 Constituency on Sunday, local Channel 24 television reported.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina voted in the morning in Dhaka, where she told the media that the election is being held peacefully and fair and that her party would return to power for the fourth time in a row.

However, opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee member Abdul Moin Khan described the election as a farce to the nation, claiming that the election's low turnout is a clear indication of the process.

The ruling Awami League party and its ally Jatiya Party have their candidates standing in elections, and the main opposition BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami party have boycotted the election.
Their candidates did not file any nomination for the election.

People are observing a shutdown after opposition parties called for the boycott, alleging the polls were "one-sided."

On Saturday, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal regretted that "desired political participation and competition is not happening in this election."

Awal said it deployed a total of 800,000 members of law enforcement, including armed forces, in a total of 42,000 polling centers to ensure a peaceful election.