File photo: Bangladesh's last prime minister Khaleda Zia (L) and current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed (R) gesture during their respective political rallies in Dhaka
Dhaka:
Voting began on Sunday in a Bangladeshi general election that has been plagued by deadly violence and is being boycotted by the main opposition party.
"The polls opened across the country at 8:00 am (0200 GMT)," said election commission spokesman SM Asaduzzaman.
Turnout is expected to be low and AFP correspondents in the capital Dhaka said there was no sign of queues outside polling stations when they opened.
Around 150 people have died since the opposition launched a campaign designed to derail the election in October and there were fresh reports of deaths overnight.
Police said that a polling officer was beaten to death in the northern district of Thakurgaon on Saturday night while a truck driver died of his burn injuries after his vehicle was firebombed on Friday by opposition activists.