Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina re-elected PM for fifth term amid opposition boycott

Hasina sweeps elections for fith term in office amid opposition boycott and low turnout

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gestures after casting her vote casts at a polling station in Dhaka (AFP via Getty Images)

Sheikh Hasina was re-elected as Bangladesh’s prime minister for a fifth time on Sunday amid an opposition boycott and abysmal turnout of voters.

Ms Hasina’s Awami League party swept the 12th general election held on 7 January, winning an absolute majority of at least 224 seats out of 299 seats.

The election commission is yet to officially declare the winning numbers on Monday.

The 76-year-old daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh, first became prime minister in 1996. This will be her fourth consecutive term in office.

Independent candidates took 62, while the Jatiya Party, the third largest in the country, took 11 seats and Kallyan Party got 1.

Critics of the ruling party accused Awami League of planting some of their partymen as “dummy independent candidates” in a show of false participation and fairness.

Ms Hasina’s main rival – the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by jailed former prime minister Khaleda Zia – boycotted the general elections, saying that it would be a futile and unfair exercise under the Hasina administration.

A policeman walks past a portrait of Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka (AFP via Getty Images)

The BNP rejected the result and vowed to continue their fight against the Hasina government. The opposition called a two-day strike nationwide through Sunday, asking people to shun the election, and said the low turnout was a success for their boycott call.

Residents largely stayed away from Sunday’s election, which was marred by violence. Mosharrof Shah, national daily Prothom Alo journalist, was assaulted for taking pictures of an alleged ballot stuffing for the ruling party, the newspaper said.

Nearly 40 per cent of the 119.6 million eligible voters turned out to cast their ballot on Sunday, said chief election commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, compared with over 80 per cent in the last election in 2018.

Election officials pour ballot papers from a ballot box for counting at a polling booth (AFP via Getty Images)

At least 18 arson attacks preceded the vote, including four deaths in an arson attack on a passenger train on Friday.

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

Hasina polled 249,962 votes from her constituency Gopalganj, about 165 km south of the capital Dhaka, while her nearest rival secured just 469 votes.

“I am trying my best to ensure that democracy should continue in this country,” Hasina said on Sunday after casting her vote. Her statement comes at a time when critics and rights activists have raised alarm over the fifth-largest democracy’s descent into authoritarianism amid a crackdown on the opposition.

Hasina has instructed party leaders and supporters not to bring out any victory processions or indulge in celebrations, said Awami League’s general secretary Obaidul Quader.

Gono Odhikar Porishod supporters hold a protest against the election boycott call by the main opposition party, and demanded for free and fair elections (AP)

Polls were held for 299 directly elected parliamentary seats with voters eligible to choose from nearly 2,000 contestants.

Election to one seat will be held at a later date after an independent contestant died ahead of the vote due to natural causes.