Bangladesh polls: Sheikh Hasina registers landslide win, Opposition fumes
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's alliance has won the parliamentary vote with a thumping majority even as the main opposition rejected the "farcical" elections. The elections claimed 18 lives and left over 200 injured, making it one of the deadliest polls in the country. The ruling Awami League-led coalition has won over 267 seats in the 300-member House, according to the Election Commission (EC).
Hold fresh election under non-partisan interim government: Opposition to EC
The opposition National Unity Front (UNF) led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which has been out of power for 12 years, and had boycotted the 10th general elections in 2014, managed to secure only eight seats, media reports said. The opposition Oikya Front demanded that the EC immediately scrap the "farcical election" and hold a fresh one under a non-partisan interim government.
BNP Secretary General Alamgir describes polls as a 'cruel farce'
Front chief and veteran lawyer Kamal Hossain called the polls a "farce", citing widespread polling frauds, bdnews24.com reported. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who steered the party in the absence of imprisoned former prime minister Khaleda Zia, described the polls as a "cruel farce". He said the elections proved that free and fair polls were not possible under a partisan government.
Hasina gets 2,29,539 votes in Gopalganj, BNP manages only 123
The EC confirmed the complete result of the constituency in southwestern Gopalganj from where Hasina won, bagging 2,29,539 votes, while her BNP opponent got only 123 votes. The National Unity Front (NUF) is a coalition of parties, including BNP, Gono Forum, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD, Nagorik Oikya Front and Krishak Sramik Janata League. Hossain said, "We've reports that fraudulence took place in almost all centers".
Bangladesh witnesses another deadly polls, violence kills 18
While Hasina was seeking re-election for the fourth term as the Prime Minister, her chief rival Zia, who is reportedly partially paralyzed, faces an uncertain future in a Dhaka jail. The EC said they have received over a hundred complaints from candidates throughout the country amid reports of violence. At least 18 people, including a security agency member, have been killed in poll-related violence.
Over 6,00,000 security personnel were deployed for the election
The violence has also injured more than 200, making it one of the deadliest polls in the country, the Daily Star reported. Reports said most of the dead were ruling party activists, while others were workers of the BNP or its allies. Over 600,000 security personnel were deployed across the nation for the election in which 10.41 crore people were eligible to vote.
