Bangladesh’s premier wins 4th consecutive term in parliamentary election

(MENAFN) Premier Sheikh Hasina has won an overwhelming majority in Bangladesh’s parliamentary election after a campaign fraught with violence and a boycott from the main opposition party, giving her and her Awami League a fourth consecutive term.

Despite a campaign marked by violence and a boycott from the main opposition party, Hasina's party reportedly won 216 seats out of 299, according to TV stations with widespread journalist networks. Independent candidates secured 52 seats, and the Jatiya Party, the country's third-largest, obtained 11 seats. The final results for the remaining constituencies were still pending as of late Sunday night, as the Election Commission took time to announce the official outcome.

The election covered 299 out of 300 parliamentary seats, with one seat experiencing a postponement, as mandated by law, following the death of an independent candidate.

A conclusive official announcement from the Election Commission is anticipated on Monday.

Despite at least 18 arson attacks preceding the vote, election day unfolded in relative calm. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal reported a turnout of around 40 percent after the polls closed.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former premier Khaleda Zia, declined to acknowledge the election outcome, asserting that Bangladeshi voters had rejected the government's one-sided election.

Security incidents, including four deaths in an arson attack on a passenger train on Friday, heightened tensions ahead of the election, which was boycotted by Zia's party and its affiliated groups. They accuse Premier Hasina of transforming Bangladesh into a one-party state and stifling dissent and civil society.

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