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| Awami League 'wins' B'desh polls | Awami League 'wins' B'desh polls |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Candidates backed by the Awami League party in Bangladesh have performed strongly in local elections, election commission officials say. | Candidates backed by the Awami League party in Bangladesh have performed strongly in local elections, election commission officials say. |
| Early results suggest that the party swept all four city corporations and eight of the nine municipalities that went to the polls. | Early results suggest that the party swept all four city corporations and eight of the nine municipalities that went to the polls. |
| Correspondents say the results proves the party's grassroots strength. | |
| The voting passed off without any scenes of violence or vote rigging that have scarred past elections. | The voting passed off without any scenes of violence or vote rigging that have scarred past elections. |
| General elections due last year were postponed after political violence and are now to be held in December. | |
| 'Dazed' | 'Dazed' |
| Monday's voting took place in Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Rajshahi. Elections for the two other city corporations - Dhaka and Chittagong - and the rest of the country's more than 300 municipalities will be held by October. | |
| Officially the candidates all have to be independent but some have been endorsed by different parties and so the results give an indication of their relative strengths. | Officially the candidates all have to be independent but some have been endorsed by different parties and so the results give an indication of their relative strengths. |
| Turn-out in the vote was high | Turn-out in the vote was high |
| Correspondents say that Awami League's main rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been left in a daze by the results. | Correspondents say that Awami League's main rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been left in a daze by the results. |
| In most of the key areas up for grabs, candidates linked to the Awami League triumphed. | In most of the key areas up for grabs, candidates linked to the Awami League triumphed. |
| They included Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran, the former mayor of Sylhet who is now in prison on corruption charges - he won a large sympathy vote to earn a second stint in power. | They included Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran, the former mayor of Sylhet who is now in prison on corruption charges - he won a large sympathy vote to earn a second stint in power. |
| Early results released by the Election Commission on Tuesday also showed that Awami League candidate Talukder Abdul Khaleque clinched the mayoral race for Khulna City Corporation. | Early results released by the Election Commission on Tuesday also showed that Awami League candidate Talukder Abdul Khaleque clinched the mayoral race for Khulna City Corporation. |
| The party also performed well in the cities of Rajshahi and Barisal. | The party also performed well in the cities of Rajshahi and Barisal. |
| Emergency measures were relaxed in areas where voting took place and officials say the turn-out was high. | Emergency measures were relaxed in areas where voting took place and officials say the turn-out was high. |
| The BBC's Mark Dummett in Dhaka says that the peaceful nature of the vote will come as a huge relief to the government and the army, which staked their reputations on ensuring a credible transition to democracy. | The BBC's Mark Dummett in Dhaka says that the peaceful nature of the vote will come as a huge relief to the government and the army, which staked their reputations on ensuring a credible transition to democracy. |
| The election commissioner said that these elections, taking place in four medium size cities, with a combined electorate of about 13 million - a tenth of Bangladesh's total population - will be a model for future ballots. | The election commissioner said that these elections, taking place in four medium size cities, with a combined electorate of about 13 million - a tenth of Bangladesh's total population - will be a model for future ballots. |
| The government has promised to organise general elections by the end of the year. | The government has promised to organise general elections by the end of the year. |
| But voting on Monday was not entirely smooth. | But voting on Monday was not entirely smooth. |
| There were long delays because many voters and polling agents were confused by the new voter roll and identity system. | There were long delays because many voters and polling agents were confused by the new voter roll and identity system. |