Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says main party boycotting national elections is a ‘terrorist organisation’
- The election results will be announced after midnight.
- Voters are threatened if they refuse to vote for the ruling party.
- Hasina’s opponents call for a strike and urge the public not to vote.
Bangladesh on Sunday began its electoral process that is expected to give Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina her fifth term, but opposition parties boycotted the elections as their members were arrested in large numbers.
Hasina’s government is credited with bringing significant economic growth to a country once plagued by poverty, but has also been accused of human rights violations and ruthlessly repressing opposition parties.
Despite having few competitors, Hasina’s party has avoided fielding candidates in a few seats to ensure parliament remains a multi-party institution.
The polling stations will be open until 5:00 p.m. and the results will be announced after midnight.
However, there have been reports of voters being threatened with confiscation of government benefit cards if they refuse to vote for the ruling Awami League.
“They said since the government feeds us, we have to vote for them,” said an elderly voter from the central district of Faridpur.
Meanwhile, Hasina’s opponents, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have called for a general strike and urged the public not to vote, following months of protests last year demanding the prime minister’s resignation before the election.
Hasina said the main party that boycotted Sunday’s national election was a “terrorist organisation”, adding that she was trying to ensure her country remained democratic and urging the public to cast their votes. AFP reported.
“The BNP is a terrorist organization,” he told waiting reporters after casting his vote moments after the polls opened at Dhaka City College, alongside his sister and daughter.
“I am doing everything I can to ensure that democracy continues in this country,” Hasina said. “The elections will be free and fair,” she added.
The BNP reported that around 25,000 opposition cadres, including all local party leaders, were arrested in a crackdown, while the government estimates the figure at around 11,000.
Protests continued ahead of the election, with a few hundred opposition supporters marching in central Dhaka.
The electoral commission said around 175,000 police officers and more than 515,000 members of the Ansar reserve force had been deployed to maintain order during the vote.
