President casts early vote as Bangladesh heads for Jan. 7 election amid opposition boycott

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin and his wife on Wednesday cast their votes through postal ballot as the South Asian nation heads for Jan. 7 election amid an opposition boycott.

Shahabuddin hoped the election would be held in a peaceful atmosphere with people's participation, according to the presidential press service.

Meanwhile, armed forces and the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) have been deployed across the country ahead of the election on Jan. 7 to help the civil administration maintain law and order.

Many popular figures, including Bangladesh national cricket team captain Shakib Al Hasan, former captain Mashrafe Bin Murtaza, film star Ferdous Ahmed, media personality and artist Asaduzzaman Noor, and singer Mumtaz Begum, have joined the election fray on the ruling Awami League party’s nomination.

The Awami League party and allies on Wednesday continued election campaigns.

The opposition parties, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have boycotted the election and demanded a neutral caretaker government to hold the election. The BNP called it a “staged and dummy” election to bring back the incumbent Awami League government for a 4th successive term since 2009.

The government, however, rejected the demand calling the caretaker system unconstitutional. The caretaker system was abolished in 2011 by the parliament.

Since political unrest erupted in late October, at least 26 opposition supporters have been killed, along with a journalist and a policeman. More than 24,000 BNP supporters have so far been arrested in the turmoil. Over 1,290 others have been handed jail terms.