DHAKA, Bangladesh — As Bangladeshis get set to vote in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, there are fears that violence and intimidation could keep many away from the polls, including two opposition candidates who said police had barricaded them inside their homes. Among Hasina’s imprisoned critics is her archrival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the 74-year-old leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. “Police are there and the ruling activists are carrying homemade arms. Opposition leaders have complained of violent attacks by ruling party supporters. Abdur Rashid, whose think-tank studies Bangladesh security issues, dismissed the idea that the arrests were politically motivated, saying instead that they were the result of outstanding warrants in the normal course of the law.

Source: National Post December 29, 2018 11:11 UTC