Security forces and election monitors fanned out across Bangladesh yesterday in the hope of ensuring a safe and credible election to return the country to democracy after two years of emergency rule.
An alliance led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League has the edge in today's parliamentary vote, some analysts say. Others predict neither she nor rival and fellow ex-prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia will have a majority.
There were fears that jockeying for parliamentary support after the election could provoke violence and delay moves to tackle poverty and corruption in the impoverished south Asian nation of more than 140 million.
In a pre-election broadcast yesterday, Fakhruddin Ahmed, the head of the outgoing interim government, urged the public and political parties to accept the results peacefully.
"As the country is ready for a healthy transition to democracy, let me say I am sorry if any of unwilling mistakes might have caused pains to some," Mr Fakhruddin, a former central banker whose official title is chief adviser, also said.
His army-backed government took control in January 2007 amidst political violence, cancelling a scheduled election. It brought a measure of order but suspended many rights. For now government security forces were concentrating on trying to guarantee voter safety.
"Perhaps we have taken the toughest-ever security precautions to ensure that balloting takes place peacefully, free from rigging, intimidation and threats," inspector-general of police Noor Mohammad said.
The government has deployed 50,000 troops, 75,000 police and 6,000 members of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).
"We have imposed blanket security for the political leaders, candidates, poll officials and voters all over the country," Hasan Mahmud Khandoker, chief of the Rab, said.
Aside from violence, Bangladesh elections have often been marked by widespread cheating and fraud, but election rolls have been cleaned up, picture IDs provided, and 200,000 local and 2,000 foreign monitors assigned to check procedures.
Local media and observers generally give Hasina a plus in the voting, but predicting a precise outcome is difficult. Bengali weekly Kagoj noted that Ms Hasina's "grand alliance" may win 170 of 300 parliament seats, while Prof Sirajul Islam Chowdhury of Dhaka University did not rule out a hung parliament.
Mr Hasina and Ms Khaleda alternated in power for 15 years through 2006. Analysts say their policy differences are small and to attract much needed investment and aid what matters is less who wins than stability and peace once the results are in.