Preliminary results from Bangladesh polls suggest that an alliance headed by former Premier Sheikh Hasina has taken a strong early lead.
Election officials said on Tuesday that the 'Grand Alliance' lead by Hasina's Awami League party had won 137 out of 164 seats counted so far in the 300-seat parliament, with 20 going to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Begum Khaleda Zia, another former prime minister and rival for power. Seven other seats were won candidates outside the two alliances.
Millions of voters cast their vote on Monday as the country held its first election since seven years ago. In 2001, Khaleda Zia's BNP won parliament elections overwhelmingly.
Hasina and Zia have dominated politics in Bangladesh for years and are again vying for power after two years of emergency rule imposed by an army-backed interim government.
Meanwhile top member of the BNP said the party's supporters were kept from voting in various parts of the country, and therefore the party planned to file a complaint.
The two leaders have been released after spending nearly a year in prison for criticizing the government's domestic and foreign policy decisions.
The vote is seen as essential for the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh, which has a history of military rule and political unrest.
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Topic: Awami League leads in Bangladesh vote (Read 695 times)