Sheikh Hasina wins document fifth time period as PM in election boycotted by the opposition which guarantees extra agitations ‘to save democracy’.
Dhaka, Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says her fifth time period in energy is a “victory of the people”, dismissing the opposition’s allegation that the vote was a “sham”.
“I have been fighting throughout my life to ensure people’s democratic rights,” the 76-year-old chief stated whereas addressing a information convention at her residence in capital Dhaka on Monday.
With out naming the principle opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Social gathering (BNP), which boycotted Sunday’s polls, Hasina stated, “They didn’t come to the election as they feared people’s judgement”, including that the absence of 1 get together didn’t imply “democracy is absent” in Bangladesh.
The twelfth parliamentary elections within the South Asian nation noticed an official voter turnout of about 40 p.c, its third lowest ever. The BNP and a few unbiased observers, nevertheless, questioned the veracity of that determine.
BNP chief Abdul Moyeen Khan referred to as it a “fake election” and stated the Awami League-led authorities was “illegitimate”, demanding the vote be cancelled.
Throughout a press briefing on the get together workplace on Monday, Khan demanded a brand new election underneath a impartial caretaker administration to kind “a credible and responsible government”.
“A government of the dummy, by the dummy, for the dummy will be established if Hasina attempts to form any kind of government through this dummy election,” he stated.
Khan stated the BNP will proceed its protest to “restore people’s democratic rights” amid a months-old crackdown by the federal government.
“We have a responsibility towards the people. We can’t let our country turn into a complete authoritarian state,” he stated.
The Jatiya Social gathering, which is now the principle opposition group in parliament, additionally disputed the ballot turnout and stated the vote befell solely to re-elect Hasina and her get together members, “not to count people’s votes”.
The get together bagged 11 out of 300 parliamentary seats, whereas the governing get together gained 222. The independents gained 61.
Hasina herself gained 249,962 votes from her constituency Gopalganj, about 165km (100 miles) south of Dhaka, whereas her nearest rival secured simply 469 votes, native media reviews stated.
‘Authoritarian state’
Jatiya Social gathering chief GM Quader stated the election was truthful solely within the constituencies the Awami League needed it to be truthful. “But in other places, they just declared the numbers and names of the winning candidate. It was all pre-set,” he stated.
Envoys from a number of nations, together with India, Russia, and China, congratulated Hasina on securing a record-extending fourth consecutive time period.
The USA, which had warned of a visa ban on Bangladesh’s authorities officers if the vote was unfair, has not issued any assertion but. The European Union and different Western governments had additionally put strain on Hasina to make sure a free vote.
Dhaka-based political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman informed Al Jazeera Bangladesh has skilled a “severe blow to its core and structure” throughout Hasina’s 15-year tenure as premier.
“There is hardly any separation of power that exists in this country now,” stated Rahman, including that the chief, the legislature and the judiciary are all basically underneath the direct management of the prime minister’s workplace.
“All other constitutional or statutory institutes in this country – like the Election Commission – have become mere extensions of the regime,” he added.
Asif Nazrul, professor of legislation at Dhaka College, informed Al Jazeera Bangladesh is already “an authoritarian state” in all of the senses of the time period.
“All important institutions have been compromised to keep Hasina in power, and the way that has been done indicates the country’s transformation towards an authoritarian state,” he stated.