The main opposition party in Bangladesh has confirmed it will boycott a general election in January, claiming the polls will be rigged.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party announced the decision on Monday.
The ABC reports street violence has left 52 people dead since late October and a series of strikes and blockades have paralysed large parts of the country.
The BNP demands Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina quit and make way for a "non-party and impartial" chief executive to oversee the polls.
It believes any polls held under Ms Hasina will be rigged.
Over the past two decades, four free and fair polls have been held under caretaker governments. But the ABC reports Ms Hasina scrapped the system in 2011 - saying it was unconstitutional.
She instead formed an interim multi-party cabinet which includes her allies.
The BNP failed to register candidates before the deadline of 5pm on Monday.
"There is no question of us filing nominations for the January 5 election under the present circumstances," said BNP vice president Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury.
"We're not going to take part in the January elections."
