Thousands of soldiers and police were deployed to ensure peaceful voting for local government elections in three major cities Thursday amid a boycott of the polls by the main opposition party. The opposition Awami League boycotted the city council elections in the capital, Dhaka, and the cities of Khulna and Rajshahi, accusing the Election Commission of favoring Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's ruling coalition.
The commission has denied the opposition allegation.
A holiday was declared in the three cities where 3.5 million registered voters are eligible to elect mayors and 200 deputies. It is the first local government elections since Zia's four-party coalition swept the national elections last October.
Unofficial results are expected Friday. Bureau Report