Sheikh Hasina Wins Fifth Term in Bangladesh Elections Boycotted by Opposition

Bangladesh: A fifth term for Sheikh Hasina after elections boycotted by the opposition

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won a fifth term, with her party obtaining more than three-quarters of the seats in parliament in legislative elections that the opposition boycotted and described as a “sham.”

On Monday, Sheikh Hasina confirmed that the elections were “free and fair” in her first comment after winning Sunday’s vote. She stressed that whoever wants to “criticize can criticize.”

After Bangladesh was suffering from extreme poverty, the eighth country in the world in terms of population (about 170 million people) experienced rapid economic growth during Hasina’s era. However, its government was accused of committing human rights violations and exercising severe repression against the opposition.

A policeman in front of a large picture of Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on Monday (AFP)

Deputy Secretary of the Election Commission, Muniruzzaman Talukder, announced that Hasina’s party “(Awami League) won the elections.”

According to preliminary numbers, participation in the elections was weak and was approximately 40 percent.

Talukder said: Hasina’s party won 223 seats out of 300 in Parliament.

Analysts believe that Hasina may expand her majority further as she obtains the support of other representatives, especially from allied parties.

Ali Riaz, from the American University of Illinois, told Agence France-Presse: “It is a one-party parliament,” noting that “only allies of the Awami League were able to participate.”

Mubashir Hassan, a political expert at the University of Oslo in Norway, explained that the Jatiya Party, which won 11 seats, is a long-time ally of the Awami League, as are a large number of the 61 independent candidates.

“Black masks”

Mubashir Hassan told Agence France-Presse: “These elections have given legitimacy to the one-party system in the country, in the absence of a credible and effective opposition in Parliament,” adding that “the independent candidates who won seats almost all belong to the (Awami League).”

Opposition activists protest the elections in Dhaka on Monday (AP)

Among the winners was former national cricket team captain, Shakib Al Hasan, who won a seat by running for the Awami League.

Opposition activists organized a demonstration on Monday in Dhaka, wearing black masks over their mouths to indicate a boycott of the elections.

The Awami League party did not face almost any opponents in the electoral districts in which it ran, but it refrained from nominating candidates in a number of them. In a move that appears aimed at avoiding parliament being considered a tool controlled by one party.

He called on the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main opposition party that witnessed a widespread wave of arrests among its ranks, not to participate in the elections, which he described as a “sham.”

After casting her vote on Sunday, Hasina (76 years old) called on citizens to vote, describing the Bangladesh Nationalist Party as a “terrorist organization.”

The party’s leader, Tariq Rahman, denounced fraud operations from his exile in London, where he has lived since 2008. He wrote on social media: “What happened is not an election, but a disgrace to the democratic aspirations of Bangladesh,” adding that he saw “disturbing pictures and videos” that support his accusations.

Meenakshi Ganguly, from Human Rights Watch, said on Sunday that the government had failed to reassure opposition supporters that the elections would be fair, warning that “many fear further repression.”

Representatives from neighboring China, Russia and India were among the first to visit Hasina at her home on Monday to congratulate her on her “total victory,” her office said in a statement.

Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen praised the “long friendship” with Dhaka, stressing in a statement the strengthening of relations during Hasina’s 15-year reign.

Bangladesh’s political scene has long been dominated by the rivalry between Hasina, the daughter of one of the country’s founders, and Khaleda Zia, the wife of a former military official who served as prime minister twice.

Hasina returned to power in 2009 and later consolidated her power in two elections that were marred by widespread irregularities and accusations of fraud.

Zia (78 years old) was convicted of corruption in 2018 and is currently undergoing treatment in a hospital in Dhaka, while her son Tariq Rahman takes over the leadership of the party from London.

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2024-01-09 08:00:40