Bangladesh voting peaceful

Bangladeshis voted in their droves on Monday in elections that marked the end of two years of emergency rule, with a pair of rival former prime ministers vying to reclaim power in the impoverished nation.

Amid tight security, the first polls since 2001 saw a turnout as high as 70 percent, with none of the violence that forced the last scheduled vote to be cancelled and an army-backed interim government take control.

Long queues snaked outside voting stations all day as hundreds of thousands of police and troops stood ready to avert clashes between party activists or any attacks by Islamic extremists.

Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League, and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), wooed voters with promises of cheap food, action against Islamic militancy and curbs on corruption. After voting in the capital Dhaka, Sheikh Hasina questioned how some ballot papers had been distributed but insisted, "I want the election to take place peacefully. Whatever the result is, we all should accept it."

Zia appeared confident of victory. "If a free and fair election takes place today, we will win with a landslide victory like the 2001 election," she said.

With counting under way, analysts said the result was uncertain as a third of the 81 million electorate was voting for the first time. AFP