Dhaka, Feb. 12 -- Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman has expressed firm confidence in his party's victory, saying voters will thwart any "conspiracy" through the ballot box.

He arrived at the Gulshan Model High School polling centre with his wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Rahman at 9:35am on Thursday. Zaima voted for the first time.

After casting his ballot, he stepped outside the premises where local and foreign media crowded around him for comment.

"I have just exercised my constitutional right to vote," he said. "For more than a decade, the people of Bangladesh have waited for this day. We are confident they will use their rights and usher in a democratic Bangladesh."

Asked how optimistic he felt abo...