As election officials made last-minute preparations yesterday for Bangladesh's violence-blighted general election, the government pledged its determination to secure a peaceful democracy.
The caretaker government chief called on bickering politicians to accept the outcome of today's poll.
"In a democracy, there is no permanent winner or permanent loser," the Prime Minister, Mr Latifur Rahman, said in an address to the nation.
Mr Rahman, who took charge in July to organise the elections, will hand over power to the next elected prime minister by October 11th, as mandated by the country's constitution.
Heated campaigning in the run-up to the election has claimed more than 130 lives with bitter rivalries between the two leading parties, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Awami League, erupting into brutal clashes. But as thousands of security forces were deployed across the country and a ban was imposed on political activity, Bangladeshis were able to enjoy a brief respite from the troubles in the final hours before the poll.
"We are a poor people and we want peace as violence destroys the country," said Mr Modhu Mia, a rickshaw driver in the port city of Narayanganj, 20 km from Dhaka. Activists from different political parties echoed the same sentiment, a reassuring sign in a district which has witnessed its share of violent outbursts, including Bangladesh's worst bomb attack, which claimed 22 lives in June this year.
Meanwhile, troops and officials were busying themselves with the task of transporting ballot boxes and setting up polling stations for the country's 75-million strong electorate.
Allegations of corruption and threats against voters - particularly religious minorities and women - have dogged Bangladesh's election process, prompting the involvement of almost 200 international observers in addition to tens of thousands of local monitors.
According to one Narayanganj police officer, Mr M Kamal, troops were ready to dissuade troublemakers through the use of force. The contest is widely viewed as a showdown between Bangladesh's main party leaders - two women who despite almost similar political platforms have become sworn enemies.
Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the daughter of Bangladesh's founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has pitted her Awami League party against the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led four-party alliance. The latter is headed by Sheikh Rahman's nemesis, Begum Khaleda Zia. The rivalry pervades both parties.