Dhaka, Dec 30 (IBNS): The Awami League-led alliance will be forming the government in Bangladesh for the third consecutive time as Shekh Hasina received an overwhelmining mandate in an election marked by sporadic violence that claimed 17 lives. This will also be the fourth term for Hasina's party.
According to officials, the AL led alliance had already won 242 of the 300 seats in the Bangladesh Parliament by late Sunday night. League alone won 212 seats till late night. The opposition BNP of jailed former prime minister Khaleda Zia has bagged only six so far.
Amid reports of sporadic violence which left at least 17 people dead, Bangladesh voted to elect a new Prime Minister on Sunday.
Voting started at 8 am in the morning and continued till 4 pm. Counting of votes is currently going on.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is the daughter of the country's founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been ruling the country since 2009 and won the elections unopposed in 2014 when the opposition parties had boycotted the polls.
The key battle this time was between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, her alliances and the opposition Jatiyo Oikyo Front which among other parties also combines the BNP (Bangladesh National Party of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who is now serving term in a prison in Dhaka on corruption charges).
The Bangladesh National Party contested with its chief Khaleda Zia currently in prison over corruption charges. She was jailed on Feb 8 this year.
Reports of poll-violence related deaths have emerged from different districts of the nation so far. Most of the deceased are reportedly Awami League activists.
At least 28 candidates from the main opposition alliance withdrew before polling closed, alleging vote rigging and intimidation, reported BBC.
What the Awami League said about the polls:
The ruling Awami League said election took place in the nation largely without any conflict.
“In the 47 years of Bangladesh, I believe this election had the least conflict," Awami League Joint General Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak was quoted as saying by bdnews24.
“I believe that this election has been more peaceful, free and fair than ever before and has been conducted with the participation of all," he said.
BNP cries foul:
BNP Joint Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal has said that the election proved that fair election cannot be conducted by a partisan government.
“We now believe that there was no need to stage such a farce in the guise of an election,” he was quoted as saying.
“The president may just as well have published a ‘boat’ victory in the 299 constituencies in a gazette. We wouldn’t have been surprised by that,” he said.
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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