LONG LINES OF VOTERS, HEAVY SECURITY
There were no reports of major violence, but a BNP leader died in a scuffle outside a polling booth in the coastal town of Khulna, and two paramilitary personnel and a 13-year old girl were injured when a home-made bomb exploded outside a polling booth in Hasina’s stronghold of Gopalganj.
Around 958,000 personnel from the police, army and paramilitary forces were deployed throughout the country on election day, the Election Commission said. Police and army personnel were stationed outside most polling booths.
“I am feeling excited because we are voting in a free manner after 17 years,” Mohammed Jobair Hossain, 39, said as he waited in line. “Our votes will matter and have meaning.”
Hossain’s sentiment was echoed by many voters, who told Reuters that the atmosphere felt freer and more festive than in earlier elections.
Kamal Chowdhury, 31, who works as a driver for a company in Dhaka and travelled to his hometown in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria to cast his vote, said: “It feels festive here.
“People are so enthusiastic to cast their vote – it’s almost like Eid,” he added, referring to Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim religious festival.
Outside a polling booth in Dhaka, where BNP chief Tarique Rahman and head of the interim government Muhammad Yunus voted, policemen were on horses with saddle blankets proclaiming: “Police are here, vote without fear”.
“From today, we have the opportunity to build a new Bangladesh with every step we take. This is a festival, a day of joy, a day of liberation, the end of our nightmare. I congratulate you all,” said Yunus, who took over as interim head after Hasina, said after voting.
“The crucial test for Bangladesh now will be to ensure the election is conducted fairly and impartially, and for all parties to then accept the result,” said Thomas Kean, a senior consultant with the International Crisis Group.
“If that happens, it will be the strongest evidence yet that Bangladesh has indeed embarked on a period of democratic renewal.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/bangladesh-election-polls-close-bnp-jamaat-e-islami-5926361
