A Bangladeshi woman puts her thumb print to receive a ballot paper before casting her vote at a polling station in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. Voting has started in Bangladesh for general elections Sunday that threaten to deepen the crisis in the South Asian nation. AP Photo/ Rajesh Kumar Singh A Bangladeshi woman writes her signature to receive a ballot paper before casting her vote at a polling station in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. A Bangladeshi woman emerges from an enclosure after marking her ballot paper at a polling station in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. Bangladeshi security officials stand guard as a woman leaves a polling station after casting her vote in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. A Bangladeshi polling officer marks the finger of a voter with indelible ink at a polling station in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Police in Bangladesh fired at protesters and more than 100 polling stations were torched in Sunday's general elections marred by violence and a boycott by the opposition, which dismissed the polls as a farce. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's refusal to heed opposition demands to step down and appoint a neutral caretaker to oversee the election led to the boycott, undermining the legitimacy of the vote. Opposition activists responded with attacks, strikes and transportation blockades in unrest that has already left at least 275 people dead since last year. We never expected such an election. For such a situation both the government and opposition are responsible. They don't want to establish democracy," said Aminul Islam, a Dhaka resident who refused to vote. Police opened fire to stop protesters from seizing a polling center in northern Rangpur district, killing two people. In a similar incident in neighboring Nilphamari district, police fired into about two dozens of protesters, leaving two people dead. Police gave no further details, but Dhaka's Daily Star newspaper said the three men belonged to the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party. Elsewhere, police said suspected opposition activists stabbed to death a polling official, and local media reported that attackers torched more than 127 school buildings across the country in overnight attacks. So far, the turnout appeared to be low. The voting began at 8 a.m. but local television stations showed mostly empty polling stations. By midmorning, polling was suspended in at least 120 centers because of attacks, burning of ballots and election materials, an election official said on condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to speak to reporters. At a polling station in Dhaka's Mirpur district, only 25 out of 24,000 registered voters cast their ballot in the first two hours, with polling officials saying fear of violence and absence of any strong opposition kept people away. Hasina's refusal to quit and name an independent caretaker administration, which resulted in the boycott by opposition parties, means the election will mainly be a contest between candidates from the ruling Awami League and its allies. Awami League candidates are running unchallenged in more than half of the country's 300 parliamentary constituencies. The squabbling between Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia - known as the "Battling Begums" - has become a bitter sideshow as both women, who have dominated Bangladeshi politics for two decades, vie to lead the country. Zia urged people to boycott what she called "farcical" elections. The European Union, the United States and the British Commonwealth said they would not send observers for the election. U.S. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said that Washington was disappointed that the major political parties have not reached a consensus on a way to hold free, fair and credible elections.