Prime Minister Hasina Secures Fifth Term in Office

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, emerges as the winner of the parliamentary elections. The country’s largest opposition party had boycotted the elections in protest.

In a controversial parliamentary election in Bangladesh, the incumbent Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, has secured her fifth term in office. As confirmed by the Election Commission, Hasina’s ruling party, Awami League, won a significant victory with 223 out of 300 parliamentary seats. The voter turnout, according to the commission, stood at 41.8 percent.

Given the boycott by the largest opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Awami League’s win was predictable, paving the way for a fifth term for the 76-year-old Hasina.

Thousands of opposition politicians arrested

In the months leading up to the election, the authorities in the South Asian country took strong action against the opposition. According to the BNP, their entire party leadership, along with approximately 25,000 other politicians, were arrested, with tens of thousands going into hiding. The government reported that 11,000 opposition figures had been detained.

Experts believe that the parliamentary election has established a de facto one-party system without a real opposition in Bangladesh. “Only Awami League allies had the opportunity to participate in the vote,” said Ali Riaz from the Illinois State University to the news agency AFP.

Political expert Mubaschar Hasan from the University of Oslo stated, “Almost all independent candidates who won parliamentary seats also belong to the Awami League.”

Despite massive protests and criticism, Hasina described the election as “free and fair.”