Bangladesh hit by violence ahead of poll

An opposition activist was killed and dozens of voting booths were attacked in Bangladesh ahead of elections which have been hit by a mass boycott, officials said.

bangladesh_vote_aap.jpg

Bangladeshi supporters of independent election candidate Hazi Mohammad Salim take part in a campaign rally in Dhaka ahead of the election. (AAP)

Police said the protester was killed in clashes with supporters of the ruling Awami League in the northern town of Patgram as the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party enforced a nationwide strike to resist what its calls a "farcical" election on Sunday.
   
"We don't know his identity but he is from either the BNP or Jamaat-e-Islami party," a police chief in Patgram told AFP, referring to the opposition's main Islamist ally which is banned from the election.
   
The BNP is the largest of 21 opposition parties which have refused to take part in the parliamentary election, which is certain to be won by the Awami League.
   
Around 150 people have been killed in political violence since October and a mass military deployment ahead of the polls has failed to halt the unrest.
   
Police and election officials said Saturday that protesters had set fire to or attempted to torch 34 polling booths during the first day of the strike.
   
Officials said the attacks would not derail the eleection and that alternative arrangements had been made for voters to cast ballots in the affected areas.
   
"There won't be any cancellation of polls in my region," Mohammad Abdullah, government administrator in the southeastern Chittagong region, told AFP.
   
"We've already made move to shift three polling centres which have been torched by protesters."
   
Two of the polling stations that were attacked were in the capital Dhaka, while nine were hit in the troubled southern Khulna district.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AFP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world