At least 11 people killed in Bangladesh election unrest

Police in Bangladesh fired at protesters, and opposition activists torched more than 100 polling stations on Sunday during a national election boycotted by the opposition and described as flawed by the international community. At least 11 people were killed in election-related violence.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's refusal to heed opposition demands to step down and appoint a neutral caretaker to oversee the election led to the boycott, undermining the legitimacy of the vote. Opposition activists have staged attacks, strikes and transportation blockades in unrest that has left at least 286 people dead since last year.

"We never expected such an election," said Aminul Islam, a resident of the capital, Dhaka, who refused to vote. "For such a situation, both the government and opposition are responsible. They don't want to establish democracy."

Police opened fire to stop protesters seizing a polling center in Bangladesh's northern Rangpur district, killing two people, authorities said. In a similar incident in neighboring Nilphamari district, police fired into about two dozen protesters, killing two people.

Police gave no further details, but Dhaka's Daily Star newspaper said the four men who were killed belonged to the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party.

Police said another seven people were killed in election-related violence elsewhere, including a polling official who was stabbed to death by suspected opposition activists.

Local media reported that attackers torched at least 127 school buildings across Bangladesh in overnight attacks. The buildings were to be used as polling stations.

As of Sunday afternoon, voter turnout appeared to be low. The voting began at 8 am, but local television stations showed mostly empty polling stations.

"The boycott of the election by several parties may have contributed to the low turnout," Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad told journalists at his Dhaka office.

The opposition boycott led to 153 of Parliament's 300 elected seats going uncontested.

The European Union, the United States and Britain did not send observers for what they considered a flawed election. US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said that Washington was disappointed that the major political parties had not reached a consensus on a way to hold free, fair and credible elections.

Tens of thousands of troops were deployed across the country after about 150 people had been killed in the buildup, but they failed to stem the bloodshed.

The ruling Awami League has accused the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party of orchestrating the violence, and has kept its leader under de facto house arrest.

With the opposition trying to enforce a general strike as part of a strategy to wreck the polls, officials admit turnout could be worse than the previous low of 26 percent in a rigged 1996 election.

The outcome of the contest is not in doubt as voting is taking place in only 147 of the 300 parliamentary constituencies. Awami League candidates or allies have a clear run in the remaining 153.

Hasina's government said it had to hold the vote after Parliament's five-year term expired.

"Yes, the festive mood is missing, but this election is essential to ensure constitutional continuity," Deputy Law Minister Quamrul Islam said.

The BNP, the largest of 21 parties who are refusing to take part, has called them a "scandalous farce".

Its leader, Khaleda Zia, has been confined to her home for the last week, with riot police and water cannons posted outside her Dhaka residence.

Analysts said the political chaos could exacerbate economic woes in this deeply impoverished country of 160 million and lead to radicalization in a strategic pocket of South Asia.

AP - AFP