IIn Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party clearly won the parliamentary election, which was boycotted by the opposition. As the election commission announced on Monday (local time), Hasina's ruling party Awami League won at least 220 of the 300 seats in parliament. The official result should be announced later today. According to estimates by the electoral commission, voter turnout was around 40 percent.
Since the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other opposition parties boycotted the election, the Awami League's victory was practically a given in advance – and with it a fifth term in office for the 76-year-old Hasina. The election took place on Sunday amid a massive security presence. According to authorities, around 800,000 police and soldiers were deployed to maintain order during the controversial vote. This was largely quiet.
Opposition complains about “sham election”
Social worker Shahriar Ahmed, 32, told AFP he had “no interest in taking part in this farce.” He “prefers to stay at home” and watch films. Other voters said they had previously been threatened with withdrawal of access to social benefits if they refused to vote for the ruling Awami League.
BNP leader Tarique Rahman, who leads the party from exile in London, spoke of a “sham election”. For this reason, his party, together with other opposition parties, decided against running in the election.
In the months before the election, the authorities in the South Asian country took massive action against the opposition. According to the BNP, its entire party leadership and around 25,000 other politicians were arrested. Tens of thousands more went into hiding. The government stated the number of opposition activists arrested was 11,000. There had previously been large demonstrations against Hasina.
The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had already warned of “harmful government intervention” before the vote. Bangladesh is ranked 163rd out of 180 in the RSF press freedom rankings.
The country with its 170 million inhabitants experienced strong economic growth due to textile exports during the reign of Hasina, who has been in office since 2009. However, Hasina is highly controversial, not least because of the massive human rights violations.
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