Dhaka - Candidates backed by the former ruling Awami League party were set for a thumping victory in local elections in Bangladesh, a spokesman for the national Election Commission said Tuesday.

In the limited local polls in four cities and nine towns candidates supported by the Awami League swept to victory, Election Commission sources said.

Badruddin Ahmad Kamran was elected mayor in Sylhet city in north-eastern Bangladesh, officials said.

The election, hailed as a first step to restore democracy by the army-backed national caretaker government, was the first since a state of emergency was declared in Bangladesh last year.

The current national government took over in January 2007 following widespread political violence.

General elections are now scheduled for December, when the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party are likely to be the main powers. (dpa)