DHAKA: Counting of votes began as Bangladesh`s 10th parliamentary elections drew to a close amid boycott by the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance and sporadic violence across the country on Sunday.
 
Voting began at 8:00am and continued till 4:00pm without any break. The turnout of voters was rather poor.
 
Former Home Minister MK Alamgir blamed the cold wave for confining voters at home across Bangladesh.
 
Election Commission (EC) postponed voting in 157 polling centres across the country as BNP-Jamaat activists targeted election equipment.
 
EC sources said the voting has been postponed in 44 centers in Rangpur, 43 in Gaibandha, 15 in Dinajpur, 10 in Nilphamari, 12 in Bogra, six in Jessore, five in Laxmipur, four in Comilla, three in Thakurgaon, two each in Chittagong Habiganj and Jamalpur, and one each in Feni, Lalmonirhat and Sherpur.
 
Anti-election miscreants torched over 100 polling centres in at least 28 districts, including the capital, Dhaka, Rajshahi, Nilphamari, Narsingdi, Kishoreganj, Feni, Kurigram and Natore.

10th JS Polls Voting starts amid oppn boycott 1 th JS elections

BDST: 1610 HRS, JAN 05, 2014
Edited by: Rubaiat Saky, Senior Newsroom Editor/M. Mahbub Alam, Asst Output Editor