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 The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called a 48-hour strike
from Saturday morning and urged voters to stay away from the
"farcical" election. Traffic in Dhaka was lighter than normal for a
Saturday although some shops were open.
Without the BNP's participation, fewer than half of 300
parliamentary constituencies are being contested.
"I call upon countrymen to fully boycott the disgraceful farce in
the name of election of January 5," BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia, who
has been under what she calls virtual house arrest, said in a
statement late on Friday. The government has denied that she is
confined or under house arrest.
The BNP is protesting against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's
scrapping of the practice of having a caretaker government oversee
elections and many of its leaders are in jail or in hiding. The
impasse undermines the poll's legitimacy and is fuelling worries of
economic gridlock and further violence in the impoverished South
Asian nation of 160 million.
The office of prime minister has been held by Hasina or Khaleda for
all but two of the past 22 years and the rivalry between them is
bitter.
The election commission said nearly 60 polling stations had been set
ablaze since Friday, while police said three people were killed
early on Saturday in clashes in rural Bangladesh as violence flared
after several days of relative calm.
At least 10 people were injured when BNP activists hurled bombs at a
railway station and set on fire a train compartment in the northern
town of Natore and two buses in the port city of Chittagong were set
on fire, police said.
With more than 100 people killed in the run-up to the election,
mainly in rural districts, fears of violence at polling stations
were expected to keep many voters away.
The election commission sent a text message to voters saying their
security was ensured and urging them to turn out. "Please go to cast
your vote without any fear and hassle," it said.
Army troops have been deployed since December 26 to maintain order
during the election. GARMENT INDUSTRY DISRUPTED
Bangladesh's $22 billion garment industry, which accounts for 80
percent of exports, has been disrupted by transportation blockades
ahead of the election.
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The European Union, a duty free market for nearly 60 percent of
Bangladesh's garment exports, has refused to send election
observers, as have the United States and the Commonwealth, a
grouping of 53 mainly former British colonies.
"The Bangladesh government should end its crackdown on the political
opposition leaders and activists, and create conditions for free and
fair elections," U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
"Opposition parties should condemn and end violence by their
supporters."
The Awami League argues that the interim government system has
failed in the past.
While black-and-white campaign posters — color is not allowed — hung
in parts of the capital, the main opposition's absence means the
election has lacked the pomp and suspense of a fully competitive
poll.
Hasina has spoken of holding talks with the opposition following the
polls on the conduct of future elections. If successful, that could
lead to another election.
The BNP demands a halt to the current electoral process.
In the event of a breakdown of law and order, the military could
step in to take power, as it did in 2007, but is seen as reluctant
to do so.
(Additional reporting by Serajul Quadir;
editing by Ron Popeski)
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