DHAKA: There is no opposition candidate for prime minister, hundreds have been arrested and incumbent premier Sheikh Hasina stands accused of ignoring democratic checks on her power, but Ban­gladesh began campaigning on Monday for a year-end election.

More than 100 million people are registered to vote on Dec 30 for either Hasina’s Awami League and its allies, or a beleaguered opposition that says it is being hobbled by police.

As the election campaign was launched, with candidates holding processions and distributing leaflets, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which hopes to deny Hasina a record fourth term, said nearly 2,000 of its supporters had been arrested.

Police said those detained since the election was announced in November — including a number of candidates about to hit the hustings — had prior warrants for their arrest. But the opposition said Hasina and her party were following a pre-election “blueprint” desi­gned to stifle her rivals and intimidate their voters.

The sweep has further thinned the ranks of an opposition whose veteran leader, Khaleda Zia, is already behind bars serving 10 years for graft. The 73-year-old’s supporters say the charges are politically motivated to keep Hasina’s chief rival out of the race.

The BNP boycotted the 2014 election over fears it would be rigged, allowing Hasina to be re-elected unchallenged. That election was condemned by international observers.

The opposition opted to contest the ballot this time around, but with just weeks to go before voting day has not named anyone to run against Hasina. Still, it has fielded candidates in all 300 constituencies and is counting on a groundswell of support to overcome other hurdles.

The ruling party is confident of victory, and some independent polls suggest Hasina enjoys broad support. Her administration has presided over record economic growth during its decade in power, and invested considerably in Bangladesh’s rickety infrastructure.

But Hasina, 71, has refused to dissolve parliament and allow a caretaker government to take over ahead of the election — breaking with long-standing democratic norms.

Experts said this removes limitations on government power during the critical campaign phase, undermining the fairness of the poll. “There is no level playing field [in the campaign],” M Sakhawat Hossain, a former election commissioner, said.

Critics say Hasina has drifted toward authoritarianism, using strict laws to muzzle dissent and media freedom in the Muslim-majority nation of 160 million.

As the campaign began, the European Union and several European nations called upon the government and all stakeholders “to ensure a genuine, credible, inclusive and transparent electoral process”.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2018