Mayoral candidates of the ruling Awami League clinched a landslide victory in yesterday's election to 234 municipalities amid allegations of widespread electoral irregularities. AL candidates secured 179 mayoral posts while their rivals from the BNP got 21. And AL rebels obtained 19 posts. Ruling party men resorted to electoral irregularities in at least 80 municipalities with the local administration looking on. They stuffed ballot boxes and drove BNP candidates' agents out of polling centres, according to reports from The Daily Star correspondents.

Jatiya Party, a key ally of the Awami League-led grand alliance government alleges that today’s municipality elections were not fair by any chance.

The ruling Awami League is maintaining a big lead over its archrival BNP as vote counting continues in the municipality elections marked by gross irregularities and widespread violence.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed claims that the municipality elections were held in a peaceful manner except some stray incidents here and there.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia today called an emergency meeting of the party’s senior leaders this evening to discuss today’s municipality elections.

BNP say their apprehension of a ‘farcical election’ became true as today’s municipality polls have been marked by “gross irregularities”.

The Election Commission cancels the municipality election of Narsingdi’s Madhabdi in view of irregularities, an official of the commission says.

Follow The Daily Star for latest updates of the Municipal Elections 2015. The Municipal elections are held every five years in the country and this year marks the first ever Municipal Partisan polls.

Prime minister’s political adviser HT Imam accuses BNP of creating “terror” at different polling centres to make the municipality elections controversial.

BNP Chief Khaleda Zia’s Adviser Khandker Mahbub Hossain says the party has been disappointed by irregularities and violence over today’s municipality polls.

A man is killed when supporters of two councillor candidates traded gunshots in Satkania upazila of Chittagong, police say.

Clashes, and attacks and arrests of BNP men marked the day before the much-hyped municipality polls today, casting doubt over the election's being free and fair.

There is no doubt that holding a fair and free election in a democratic manner brightens a ruling party's image. Why, then, do the parties in power seldom follow the path to take its image to new heights?

Protesters, hundreds in number including freedom fighters and several cultural and political activists, have formed a human chain at Gulshan-2 intersection of Dhaka against BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s statement on the count of 1971 martyrs.

The BNP has instructed its mayoral candidates and their polling agents not to leave the election centres “under any circumstances” during the casting of ballots, and that they stay there till the announcement of election results.

The BNP decided to stay in the battle of municipality polls until the last moment tomorrow, party chief Khaleda Zia said, reiterating her demand for army deployment for the sake of free and fair polls.

The ruling Awami League expresses doubt about BNP's stay in the municipality election till the last moment and called upon the party not to boycott it.

BNP alleges that it could not telecast an advertisement as part of its electoral campaign due to government intervention.

A Dhaka court sets February 17 for charge framing hearing of Niko graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and 10 others.

BNP chief Khaleda Zia has said the Awami League is spreading propaganda in the name of an election “survey”.