One dead, dozens of voting booths hit in Bangladesh: police

A Bangladeshi opposition activist has died and dozens of voting booths have been attacked in Bangladesh on the eve of the country's elections.

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 (BNP) enforced a 48-hour 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 said.

Police and election officials said protesters had set fire to or attempted to torch 34 polling booths during the first day of the strike on Saturday.

Officials said the attacks would not derail the election 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 south-eastern Chittagong region, said.

"We've already made move to shift three polling centres which have been torched by protesters."

Two of the polling stations attacked were in the capital Dhaka, while nine were hit in the troubled southern Khulna district.

The strike will continue until Monday morning and comes amid an ongoing blockade of roads, railways and waterways.

At least 142 people have been killed in election-related violence since late October.

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.

AFP

Source http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-04/an-one-dead2c-dozens-of-voting-booths-hit-in-bangladesh3a-pol/5184920