Bangladesh began voting on Sunday in the general election, set to secure a fourth streight term in office for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, following a boycott led by the country's key opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Voting started at 8 am (local time) and will conclude at 4 pm. The counting of votes will commence soon after the polls close, and the initial results are expected by early Monday. Nearly 2,000 candidates are vying for the 300 directly elected parliament seats, with a record high of 5.1 percent women candidates. Despite the BNP's boycott, Sheikh Hasina's Awami League alleges that they have fielded several independent candidates.