DHAKA: Following a violent and boycotted vote by the main opposition party, the general election on Sunday was mostly avoided by Bangladeshis, who wanted to give Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a fourth term in office.
Rights organizations have issued a warning about Hasina’s Awami League’s potential for virtual one-party rule in the 170 million-person South Asian nation following the boycott by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a few minor allies.
The garment industry in Bangladesh is heavily dependent on the United States and other Western nations, who have demanded a free and fair election—the 12th since the country’s independence in 1971.
An hour before polls closed at 3 p.m. (0900), 27.15% of voters cast ballots, according to the electoral commission. This is in contrast to the nearly 80% turnout that occurred during the previous election in 2018.
Three polling places had their votes canceled because of anomalies, according to the commission secretary, Jahangir Alam.
The BNP claims that Hasina’s party is attempting to legitimize a sham vote, which is why they boycotted the second of the last three elections. She rejected calls from the BNP to step down and enable an impartial body to oversee the election, alleging that the opposition was behind the anti-government demonstrations that have erupted in Dhaka since late October and claimed the lives of at least 14 people.
Hasina, 76, is credited with revitalizing Bangladesh’s economy and the country’s vital garment sector during her most recent 15 years in office. However, her detractors charge her of authoritarianism, violating human rights, stifling criticism, and cracking down on free expression.
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The government declared the Friday passenger train fire, which claimed at least four lives, to be the result of arson. Days before the election, a number of voting places, schools, and a Buddhist temple were set on fire.
District police head Mohammad Aslam Khan said that a person was hacked to death on Sunday morning in Munshiganj, which is located south of the capital Dhaka. He said that it was unclear whether the crime was connected to political violence.
According to local police head Saiful Islam, police in Chandpur district, roughly 110 km (70 miles) from Dhaka, used tear gas to scatter BNP supporters who had barricaded roads to obstruct polling and thrown stones at security personnel.
Awami League supporters and independent candidates battled in certain regions over claims that members of the ruling party were putting sealed ballots inside polling machines, according to local media.
In order to help keep the calm, troops from throughout the country were mobilized, and approximately 800,000 security personnel were sent to Bangladesh to watch polling places.
Shortly after polls opened at 8 a.m. in Dhaka, Hasina cast her ballot at City College with her daughter and other family members. On Monday, the first results are anticipated early.
After casting her ballot, Hasina declared, “Bangladesh is a sovereign country and people are my power.” She also expressed her expectation that her party will receive the mandate from the electorate, granting it a fifth term since 1996.
“I am trying my best to ensure that democracy should continue in this country.”
People were lining up outside polling places as the day’s mild winter chill and fog subsided, according to Reuters witnesses.
There were about 2,000 candidates vying for 300 directly elected parliamentary seats, with about 120 million voters making their selection. Since 2001, the number of independent candidates has increased to 436.
The ruling party refutes the opposition BNP’s accusation that the Awami League supported “dummy” candidates as independents in an effort to make the election appear legitimate, with its top officials either imprisoned or living abroad.
The BNP urged supporters to boycott the election by calling for a two-day countrywide strike that would go until Sunday.
“For the nation, PM Hasina has accomplished a lot. “I’ll cast my vote for her party,” declared 55-year-old Anowar Hossain on his way home from a Dhaka vegetable market.
Zayeda Begum, a 55-year-old college teacher, was one of several women present at a voting booth in the capital. She added that she had voted for the ruling party and expressed her satisfaction with Bangladesh’s success.
Since the war between Russia and Ukraine increased the cost of gasoline and food imports, the economy has slowed significantly, leading Bangladesh to apply for a $4.7 billion bailout from the IMF last year.
Due to the absence of the opposing party, 20-year-old BNP supporter and first-time voter Fahim Faysal chose not to cast a ballot.
“The government is doing many things but there are no employment opportunities,” he stated. “I think it would have been preferable if the BNP had run. In any case, that’s their choice.”
