Voting begins in Bangladesh elections: Sheikh Hasina set for fourth straight term as Opposition boycott polls

Voting for general elections in Bangladesh began on Sunday morning, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set to cruise to a fourth straight term with her Awami League-led alliance amid a boycott by the primary opposition party.

Voting began at 8 am and is scheduled to end at 4 pm. However, with an almost predetermined electoral outcome and a high risk of violence, turnout could be low.

The counting of votes is set to occur right after the polling exercise, and results are expected by Monday. Bangladesh has around 20 million voters, while nearly 2,000 candidates are in the fray for the 300 parliamentary seats. There are 436 independent candidates — the most since 2001.

Why has the opposition boycotted elections?

The boycott by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its smaller allies has put a blot on the credibility of elections, with the BNP alleging that the Awami League has propped up “dummy” candidates as independents to try to make the election look democratic, reported Reuters. Hasina’s bloc has denied the claim.

BNP’s current leader, the exiled Tarique Rahman has also called the process a “sham”. The BNP wanted the election to be held under a “caretaker government” to ensure a fair and unbiased process, however, Hasina did not relent.

Amid tensions, the BNP, which also boycotted polls in 2014, has urged people to boycott the polls and called a two-day nationwide strike till Sunday night.

Besides the scepticism around the fairness of the electoral process and Hasina’s autocratic tendencies, the state of the economy is another factor in the elections as well. While Hasina has been credited with taking Bangladesh’s economy to a good place, the cost of living has jumped as the country struggles to pay for costly energy imports amid weakening domestic currency and depleting dollar reserves.

Pre-poll violence in Bangladesh

On Friday, an apparent arson fire on a train in Bangladesh’s capital killed four people and added to the country’s extreme tension ahead of the parliamentary elections. The BNP has demanded a UN-supervised investigation into the incident which it described as a “pre-planned” act of sabotage, reported PTI.

Consequently, troops have been stationed across Bangladesh to maintain peace, with around 800,000 police, paramilitary and police auxiliaries guarding polling booths on Sunday.

— With Reuters, PTI inputs

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