Dozens of polling booths have been torched in Bangladesh on the eve of general elections the opposition has condemned as "farcical." Some 150 people have so far died in violence related to the controversial polls.
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Opposition activists have burnt down at least 30 polling stations in Bangladesh ahead of the country's general elections on Sunday.
The elections have been boycotted by major opposition parties such as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which called a 48-hour general strike after the government refused to accede to its demand to postpone the elections and install a neutral caretaker administration to oversee them.
BNP leader Khaleda Zia has appealed to voters to also "completely boycott" elections that she termed "a scandalous farce," and accused the government of placing her under house arrest. Her aides say she has been detained in her Dhaka home for nearly a week, though the government denies this.
In recent weeks, much of the capital, Dhaka, has been cut off from the rest of the country, with opposition activists blockading roads, train lines and waterways. Vehicles of motorists who defy the frequent strikes have also been torched.
Around 50,000 troops have been deployed across the country to try and contain the unrest. Police say 1,200 opposition activists have been detained, but opposition parties say the number of arrests is much higher than that.
Troubled times for Bangladeshi democracy
Bangladeshis are due to elect a new government on January 5. Yet protests have paralyzed the country as opposition parties push for a boycott of the election. A majority of voters are reportedly opposed to the vote.
Image: picture-alliance/Dinodia Photo
Political unrest
Bangladeshis are set to go to the polls on January 5. The country has been in turmoil for almost a year of protests, strikes, transport blockades and violence. Security forces have been clashing with supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition party. Its chief has been the engine behind a "March for Democracy" to try to stop the election. The protests are ongoing.
Image: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images
Blockades paralyze the country
The blockades of roads, railways and waterways across the country have had a huge effect on the economy and its people. According to the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce one day of blockade costs the economy about $200 million. Farmers face difficulties getting their products to the markets, and textile factories are unable to meet shipping deadlines.
Image: DW/Mustafiz Mamun
A majority opposes the poll
Seventy-seven percent of Bangladeshi voters are against the elections even taking places, according to a recent survey by the Dhaka Tribune. The majority believes that polls without the participation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) would be unacceptable.
Image: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images
Free and fair elections?
One of the main bones of contention between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (pictured) of the Awami League and the opposition is recent changes to the electoral process. Under Hasina, the constitution was amended in 2011 to abolish the need for a specially appointed caretaker government to oversee elections.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Out on the street
BNP chief Khaleda Zia argues that without a neutral caretaker government, the poll will not be legitimate. The nationalists have been effective at spreading the message to boycott the poll among its supporters on the streets. The party has also been angered by the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, a fundamentalist Islamic party with whom it has worked closely.
Image: DW/M. Mamun
Party ban
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal, which was set up by Sheikh Hasina's government, sentenced seven Jamaat-e-Islami leaders to death in 2013. Subsequently, the High Court banned Jamaat, which is now unable to stand for election. One of the seven, Abdul Quader Mollah, was convicted of mass murder and rape during the 1971 Liberation War and executed in December.
Image: Reuters
Last-minute actor
The country's third biggest party, Jatiya Party, led by former dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad (pictured), has in the past been an ally of the governing Awami League. JP presented its election platform only on Thursday, indicating it would indeed take part in the election.
Image: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
One seat, one candidate
In more than half of all electoral districts - 154 out of 300 - only one candidate from the Awami League or its allies has been nominated. Therefore, they could have won the election without a single vote being cast. The electoral commission has already declared those 154 candidates winners of seats in Parliament in the capital, Dhaka.
Image: picture-alliance/Dinodia Photo
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In the latest violence, police said an opposition activist in the northern district of Lalmonirhat was killed in a clash with Awami League supporters on Saturday morning. So far, some 150 people are thought to have been killed since the election date was set in October.
The United States,the European Union, and the British Commonwealth have all refused to send observers to the election, calling its legitimacy further into question.
