Hasina wins Bangladesh poll with low turn out as opposition boycott

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has won Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh with overwhelming majority amidst violent election campaign and a boycott call by the main opposition party, giving her and her Awami League a fourth consecutive term.

Authorities blamed much of the violence on the BNP, accusing it of seeking to sabotage the election. On Saturday, detectives arrested seven men belonging to the Banglasdesh National Party and its youth wing for their alleged involvement in the train attack. The party, however, denied any involvement in the incident.

On Sunday, a supporter of an Awami League candidate was stabbed to death in Munshiganj district near the capital, Dhaka, according to officials.

A victory for the 76-year-old Hasina, the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister and one of its most consequential, would emerge with a deeply contentious political landscape.

While the Election Commission has been slow to announce the results of Sunday’s election, TV stations with journalists across the country reported the Awami League won 224 seats out of 299. Independent candidates took 62, while the Jatiya Party, the third largest in the country, grabbed 11 seats and Kallyan Party got 1. The results for the rest of the constituencies were still awaited.

The election was held in 299 out of 300 parliamentary seats. In one seat, the election was postponed as required by law after an independent candidate died.

A final official declaration from the Election Commission was expected on Monday night.

At least 18 arson attacks preceded the vote but the election day passed in relative calm. Turnout was around 40%, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal announced after the polls closed.

The main opposition BNP led by former premier Khaleda Zia refused to accept the election outcome, saying Bangladeshi voters have rejected the government’s one-sided election.

Security incidents, including four deaths in an arson attack on a passenger train on Friday, intensified tensions ahead of the election that was shunned by Zia’s party and its allied groups. They accuse Hasina of turning Bangladesh into a one-party state and bullying dissent and civil society.