The most striking example of how poorly the zoo is now being managed is seeing a sheep giving company to a lonely rhino. You can also see a deer as a companion to a lonely Bhutanese cow. In short the zoo looks like a place where all animals are kept to die quickly.

The ruling Awami League has listed more than twenty of its lawmakers who will have to face disciplinary action for backing rebel candidates in Wednesday's municipality elections, say party insiders.

It is nothing but an air of optimism for the present and the future if the major development activities --both at planning stage and under implementation by the Awami League-led government are considered. But the state of democracy in the country tells of another tale, not so happy or bright.

BNP hopes that people will be able to restore democracy in the country by defeating fascism and autocracy in 2016.

The ruling Awami League is really happy with the just concluded municipality polls.

An elderly man who is injured in a clash during yesterday’s municipality elections in Barguna succumbs to his wounds.

Awami League joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif expresses satisfaction over the recently concluded municipality polls and called upon BNP to accept its result.

Terming it as an "updated version" of vote rigging, BNP decides to express their dissatisfaction of the municipality polls.

Police played the role of silent spectators at many voting centres when supporters of Awami League mayor candidates prevented voters from entering polling centres, snatched ballot papers and stuffed those in ballot boxes.

Thirty-six municipal mayor candidates of different political parties, including one from the ruling Awami League, pulled out of the electoral race yesterday alleging vote rigging by AL men and use of influence by local administrations.

The BNP has rejected the results of yesterday's municipal polls, alleging widespread vote-rigging, ballot-stuffing and capture of more than a thousand polling stations by the ruling party men.

Ballot-stuffing in at least 30 centres began soon after voting began in the morning and continued till it ended in the afternoon in yesterday's municipal polls.

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 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.

AL Joint Secretary General Mahbubul Alam Hanif urges all the candidates to accept the polls results whatever it might be.

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.