Dhaka, Jan 7 (Reporter) Amidst sporadic clashes that left one dead, the voter turnout in many polling centres in Sunday's Bangladesh elections remained low in the first four hours, in the backdrop of a strike and boycott call given by opposition parties including the BNP. 'The percentage of votes cast in the 12th parliamentary election till 12:10pm was 18.5 percent,' Election Commission (EC) Secretary Jahangir Alam said during a press briefing. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina exercised her democratic choice in a polling booth of the national capital Dhaka. In the capital city, a total of 175 votes were cast by 9:31am at the Savar Islamia Kamil Madrasa booth, Prof Abdul Malek, the presiding officer at the polling centre, told leading Bangladesh media outlet The Daily Star. 'In three centres of Dhaka-2 and Dhaka-19, a total of 525 votes out of 9,162 were cast till 10:00am. Total voters of the centre are 5,183 (2,669 male, 2,514 female), according to presiding officers of the centre. At Azimpur Girls School and College in Dhaka-7, a total of 50 votes were cast till 9:30am. Total voters in this centre is 2,914, ' the newspaper quoted officials as saying. The presiding officers of two polling centres said the turnout was somewhat low due to the cold weather. Voters' number will increase after 12 noon, they said. Meanwhile, sporadic clashes have been reported after voting began in the morning. According to a Xinhua report, supporters of an independent candidate attacked a man and fatally stabbed him with a sharp weapon, leaving him dead. On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. Another clash broke out between police and the members of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Chattogram, the Dhaka Tribune reported. The BNP, Jamat-e Islami, the Left Democratic Front, and a number of other opposition parties have called a strike on Sunday. These parties have boycotted the polls and urged the people not to vote, describing the elections as "farce". They have demanded the resignation of the Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina and the holding of polls under a neutral caretaker government, as was done on several occasions in the past...////...