Dhaka  - Voting began Thursday for Bangladesh's local government sub-district councils, or Upazila Parishads, which are taking place for the first time in nearly two decades, amid heightened security across the country.

Election authorities expect a large turnout in the polls which will elect representatives at each of the 481 councils, which are constitutionally mandated to run local administrations and implement of schemes for social and economic development.

But turnout was poor when the balloting began at 8 am (0200 GMT) compared to last month's general election that witnessed an overwhelming 87-per-cent voter turnout, according to reports from the countryside.

After a spate of pre-election violence, the election commission was forced to cancel voting in two sub-district councils and deployed over 500,000 law enforcement officers to prevent violence on election day and afterwards. Military troops were also deployed to aid civil administration officials.

Bangladesh's chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda called upon police to handle troublemakers with an iron fist.

The local elections take place under a newly elected government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed, who won a landslide victory in parliamentary polls less than a month ago, ending 18 years of military rule.

The parliamentary elections, conducted by the army-backed interim administration of Fakhruddin Ahmed, were generally peaceful with local and international observers terming them credible.

The election authorities announced a public holiday Thursday to facilitate people to cast their vote for the Upazila Parishad, a vital part of the local government created in the mid 1980s as part of decentralization campaign. The last elections to these positions were held in 1990.

Successive governments since the restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1991 have kept upazilas dysfunctional either by dissolving the system or by not forming the bodies through elections. (dpa)