Bangladesh Polls: The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its supporters boycotted the general elections, which resulted in a landslide victory for Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina‘s Awami League party and a record-breaking fourth term in office. A history of violent incidents, including school and polling booth fires, preceded the polls.
Hasina’s Longest Tenure
With this victory, Hasina would likely hold the record for the longest tenure as Bangladesh’s prime minister since the nation’s independence. With two seats in the 300-seat Bangladesh Parliament still awaiting vote tallying, Hasina’s party has secured 224 of the seats thus far. Thus far, 298 seats’ results have been made public. So far, the Jatiyo Party has garnered four seats, the Awami League has won 224 seats, and up to 62 constituencies have gone to independent candidates. A different party has won one seat.
Pending Final Announcement
“We can call (the) Awami League winner with the already available results, but the final announcement will be made after the end of the counting of votes in the rest of the constituencies,” an election commission spokesman told reporters. This was Hasina’s eighth election victory from the Gopalganj-3 seat since 1986. She received 2,49,965 votes, compared to just 469 for her closest opponent, M Nizam Uddin Lashkar of the Bangladesh Supreme Party.
Forty Percent in Lopsided Election
With a paltry turnout of forty percent, Sheikh Hasina, who has ruled the strategically positioned South Asian nation since 2009, won a record-breaking fourth straight term and fifth overall in the lopsided election. As stated earlier by Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, the final count may alter the turnout figure. The BNP, led by the former prime minister of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia, announced on Tuesday that the party will be stepping up its anti-government campaign with a nonviolent public engagement initiative, branding the polls as “fake.”
Abstention in 2014 and 2022
The BNP abstained from the 2014 election as well, although they participated in the 2018 one. In addition to the BNP, up to fifteen additional political parties abstained from the election this time. The leaders of the opposition parties asserted that the poor turnout demonstrated the effectiveness of their boycott campaign. They further said that under this programme, the right to vote will be created and peaceful democratic protests will be expedited.
Awami League’s Response to Boycott
Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the Awami League, asserted that by casting ballots, Bangladeshis rejected the boycott of the polls by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. “I sincerely thank those who braved the fear of vandalism, arson, and terrorism to participate in the 12th national parliamentary elections,” Quader said. In the 12th national parliamentary election, GM Quader, the chairman of the Jatiyo Party, was victorious in Rangpur-3. Overall voter turnout for the 2018 general election was over 80%.
Mainly Peaceful Election
This year’s vote was mainly peaceful, but since late Friday, at least 18 arson attacks have been reported nationwide, with ten of them specifically targeting polling stations, according to officials and the mainstream media in Bangladesh. A representative for the election commission had earlier stated that, aside from a few isolated acts of violence, 299 out of the 300 seats had mostly peaceful voting. Due to a candidate’s passing, the Commission decided to suspend voting in one seat.
Last-Minute Candidature Revocation
At the tail end of voting, the electoral commission revoked the candidature of the incumbent Awami League candidate in northeastern Chattogram on the grounds that he had “scolded and threatened” a police officer. Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, cast her ballot at the Dhaka City College polling place shortly after the polls opened on Sunday, accompanied by her daughter Saima Wazed. “We are very lucky… India is our trusted friend. During our Liberation War, they supported us not only that after 1975, when we lost our whole family – father, mother, brothers, everyone (in a military coup) – and only we two (Hasina and her younger sister Rehana) survived… they gave us shelter. So, we have our best wishes to the people of India,” she told reporters.
Tragic Family History
Hasina’s mother, three brothers, father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and a few other family members were all slain at their residence by military officials in August 1975. Because they were overseas, Sheikh Hasina and her sister Rehana were able to withstand the purge. The nation’s Election Commission reports that 119.6 million registered voters were able to cast ballots at more than 42,000 polling places on Sunday.
Diverse Candidate Pool
Along with 436 independents, almost 1,500 candidates representing 27 political parties were running for office. The 12th general election was closely watched by more than 100 foreign observers, three of them were from India. During the elections, around 7.5 lakh law enforcement and security personnel were sent to maintain peace and order. Brigadier General (Retired) Sakhawat Hussain, a former election commissioner, described Sunday’s polls as different from those of the previous two elections.
Same-Party Candidates as Independents
“This time the election is taking place between candidates from the same party in the name of independents and dummies. As a result, voters are less interested in the polls,” said Sakhawat. “So, it is a unique model election… Results of the election are certain, everybody knows who is going to win. The only uncertain thing is who will be in the opposition bench,” he added. The oppressive atmosphere surrounding the elections in Bangladesh, according to UN Special Rapporteur Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, left him “deeply disturbed” on Friday.
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