DHAKA, Aug 3: Bangladeshis go to the polls on Monday to vote in the first phase of local elections amid enthusiasm stoked up by a court ruling allowing political parties, but overshadowed by a continuing state of emergency.

Election officials said hundreds of candidates had registered to stand for positions in four city corporations and nine municipalities, the first polls organised by the country’s army-backed interim government since taking power in January 2007 and declaring emergency rule.

Authorities eased some emergency restrictions in voting areas to allow campaigning to take place, but refused to lift the emergency totally, fearing a return of the violence and vote fraud that has dogged previous elections.

Chief Election Commissioner A.T.M. Shamsul Huda has dubbed the local polls as a “gateway to democracy” that would lead to national elections which the government has promised will be held before the end of the year.

Monday’s vote will be followed by a series of more local elections until October.

City corporations, municipalities and other local councils enjoy sweeping power to govern, implement and oversee development projects and foreign financed disaster management.

They have a strong influence in selecting candidates for national elections.

Voters say they are hoping to be able to cast their ballots without intimidation and rigging.

“We will not repeat the mistakes of the past and will try to elect the eligible and honest candidates,” said Aminullah Miah, a voter in northern Rajshahi city.

“Law and order has improved... and people are feeling safe,” said Shoukat Hossain Hiron, a mayoral candidate in the city of Barisal, in the south.

Retired Brigadier-General Shakhawat Hossain, another election commissioner, said: “It is the voters’ responsibility to pick up the honest people. We have placed all the instruments in place and will try to make sure the voting goes well, peacefully.”

The Aug 4 elections will be monitored by hundreds of observers from Bangladesh and abroad, and their opinion is likely to be a barometer for national elections.

Authorities have deployed hundreds of extra police, members of the elite rapid action battalion and a strike force drawn from all security agencies to keep order in polling areas.

Magistrates will be at hand to summarily punish anyone, including candidates, if they violate election laws, officials said.

“The local elections are the first step towards conducting an untampered, reliable and acceptable parliamentary election in December,” said Badiul Alam Majumder, leader of a civil rights group, called Citizens for Good Governance.

Political and economic analyst Atiur Rahman said: “The local elections are a crucial test of ability of the interim authority and a huge challenge for the nation itself.”

“But the key focus should remain firmly on conducting a credible and honest national election, which is a must to prod the country’s fledgling economy,” he added.—Reuters