Political clashes in Bangladesh leaves two dead, dozens injured

Political clashes in Bangladesh left two campaign workers dead and injured dozens more, police said on Wednesday, as tensions soared before a general election on December 30.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the ruling Awami League Party is seeking a third straight term as formal election campaigning got underway on Monday.

Her old rival, Khaleda Zia, who leads the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is in jail after being convicted on charges she says were politically motivated.

The BNP boycotted the last election, in 2014, as unfair, but has said it will take part this time, though it is seeking international monitors of polls it believes will be flawed.

Workers from the two parties clashed on Tuesday in two districts outside the capital Dhaka, leaving two Awami League campaigners dead, police said.

Police in the Noakhali and Faridpur districts said cases had been opened against 45 people and more arrests were expected.

“The returning officer has convened a meeting of both parties to avoid such an incident in future,” said Elias Sharif, superintendent of police in Noakhali.

Awami League spokesman Hasan Mahmud accused the BNP of trying to “foil a peaceful environment and for that they are attacking our people”.

The BNP denied the accusation and said at least 200 of its supporters were injured. It also accused Awami League workers of attacking the motorcade of the BNP general secretary, a charge denied by Hasan.

While the BNP has joined smaller opposition parties to form the United National Front, the alliance does not have a clear candidate for prime minister. BNP lawyers are still working for Khaleda’s release before the December 30 vote.

Awami League “supporters and workers are desperate to keep us away from the election as they are contemplating a massive defeat,” said Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, the BNP’s senior joint secretary general.