Awami League scripts landslide victory in Bangladesh polls
Dhaka, Dec 31 (IBNS): In a poll marred by deadly violence and allegations of rigged ballots, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League have won the Bangladesh general polls held on Sunday by a massive margin as results were declared on early Monday.
Hasina and her party will form the government in the Muslim majority country for the third straight term. It is the overall fourth term of the party.
Hasina had come to power in 2009 and since then the party has remained in power undefeated.
In 2014, Awami League had won the elections unopposed when the opposition parties had boycotted the polls.
The final figure showed Awami League and her alliance partners winning 288 seats, surpassing its previous election results, while key opposition party BNP (Bangladesh National Party) managing to grab only seven.
BNP fought the elections with its party chief Khaleda Zia in prison.
Khaleda Zia is now serving term in a prison in Dhaka on corruption charges. She was jailed on Feb 8 this year.
Polling in the 299 seats were held from morning 8 am to 4 pm on Sunday. Vote counting started after voting ended and Awami League continued the domination right from the beginning.
Opposition cries foul:
Opposition Oikya Front chief Kamal Hossain called the polls a ‘farce’ and even demanded a fresh election.
"We urge the election commission to void this farcical result immediately," opposition leader Kamal Hossain was quoted as saying by BBC.
"We are demanding that a fresh election is held under a neutral government as early as possible," he said.
According to reports, 17 people were killed in the nation due to clashes between ruling party supporters and the opposition.
Hasina and her 10 years:
Besides the economic progress of Bangladesh, Hasina also was applauded for acting tough after a deadly Islamic State attack in the capital Dhaka's diplomatic area in July 2016, claiming several lives.
She also earned accolades for sheltering hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled there from neighbouring Myanmar.
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