South Asia News
Voting begins in Bangladesh local election near Dhaka
Oct 30, 2011, 6:36 GMT
Dhaka - Voting began Sunday in Bangladesh's new city of Naraynaganj, near Dhaka, as the main opposition party pulled out its candidate at the last minute to protest lack of security.
Voters waited on long queues since early morning to choose local representatives in the city of 1 million residents near the capital.
Taimur Alam Khandaker, opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party's mayoral candidate, withdrew from the race accusing the ruling Awami League of refusing to deploy army troops to maintain law and order.
The election commission had decided to deploy soldiers but the central government turned down its request.
'The last-minute withdrawal of candidacy will not hamper the election process,' chief election officer Biswas Lutfor Rahman said.
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