Finance
According to media reports quoting poll officials, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has won an overwhelming majority in Bangladesh’s parliamentary election, securing a fourth consecutive term for her party, the Awami League.
Hasina’s party has been verified to have won 216 seats out of 299 following a violent election campaign and a boycott by the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), according to multiple media sources, Sky News said.
“The ruling Awami League party has won more than 50 per cent of seats,” the official said.
The Election Commission is anticipated to make a final official announcement regarding the results of the poll by late Monday, according to Sky News.
Of the 120 million eligible voters, about 40% cast ballots, according to Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal.
According to local TV stations, independent candidates won 52 parliamentary seats, while the third-largest party in the nation, the Jatiya Party, won 11.
As of right now, Hasina’s party has surpassed the majority threshold. She will serve as Bangladesh’s prime minister for a fifth term.
Prior to the elections, thousands of opposition politicians were detained by Hasina’s administration. The previous prime minister Khaleda Zia’s opposition BNP abstained from voting.
Zia, 78, was found guilty in a corruption case and is currently under house arrest, according to Sky News.
Prime Minister Hasina, meanwhile, won reelection to the parliament from the Gopalganj-3 seat.
As per a report published by bdnews24, Hasina received 249,965 votes, whilst M. Nizam Uddin Lashkar, the closest opponent from the Bangladesh Supreme Party, managed to collect only 469 votes.
For the eighth time since 1986, Hasina has been elected to parliament from the Gopalganj-3 seat.
The 76-year-old is now the leader of the nation with the longest tenure as a result of the victory.
Sky News said that the BNP, led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, would not accept the results of the election.
At least eighteen arson attacks occurred in the run-up to the election, including one on a train on Friday night that left four people dead.
For their claimed roles in the train attack, seven men affiliated with the BNP and its youth wing were taken into custody.
The Sheikh Hasina administration continued to defend the poll, claiming that 404 independent candidates and 27 parties took part.
Source:IANS
