Bangladesh goes to polls today

By Our Special Correspondent

DHAKA, SEPT. 30. Bangladesh goes to polls on Monday to elect a new government amidst unprecedented security measures that have been taken in view of the alarming pre-poll violence that has claimed more than 100 lives.

Over 75 million voters - half of them women - will exercise their franchise to elect the nation's eighth Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) in 29,978 polling centres. A total of 1,935 candidates are in the fray for the 300-seat legislature.

The election which has polarised the ``pro'' and ``anti- Liberation'' groups, will witness a close fight between the two major political streams - one led by Sheikh Hasina, the chief of the Awami League, and the other by Begum Khaleda Zia, chief of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and leader of the four-party rightist and radical Islamic alliance.

All preparations to hold the election peacefully, fairly and freely are complete, said the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. M. A. Sayed, while the chief of the caretaker Government, Mr. Justice Latifur Rahman, claimed that his administration was determined to ensure that the polls were ``free, fair and impartial''.

In their television addresses they also warned against any violence and intimidation of voters.

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Section  : International
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