On January 7, local time, Bangladesh held the 12th National Assembly election. The election was held against the backdrop of the opposition boycotting the vote and the successive vicious arson incidents in the country, and the election ended at 16 o'clock local time on the 7th (18 o'clock Beijing time), and the preliminary results of the vote count are expected to be announced on the 8th. The Awami League is striving to become the ruling party for the fourth time in a row.
Reuters and Al Jazeera expect Bangladesh's current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to begin her fourth consecutive term as prime minister since 2009 and, if elected, her fifth term.
On January 6, 2024 local time, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on the eve of the Bangladesh general election, members of the opposition coalition held high a banner saying "Strike demanding the resignation of Sheikh Hasina" (Source: Visual China)
On the eve of the parliamentary elections, several polling stations, schools and a Buddhist temple were set on fire. According to a report by India's New Delhi TV, late at night local time on the 5th, a passenger train caught fire in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and the accident has killed five people. An official at the Dhaka City Police said police suspected the fire was an "act of vandalism" but did not give further details.
On January 5, 2024, a passenger train from the western city of Jesore to the capital Dhaka in Bangladesh caught fire, killing five people. (Source: Visual China)
More than 42,000 polling places were set up in the election, and there are nearly 120 million registered voters across Bangladesh who will elect 299 MPs from a pool of 1,970 candidates. Among them, there were 436 independent candidates, the highest number since 2001.
The parliament was originally 300 seats, but the Election Commission previously announced that one of the constituencies had a candidate who had died, and according to the relevant laws, the election in that constituency was suspended, and the vacant one seat would be by-elected at a later date.
The voting lasted for 8 hours, from 8 o'clock local time (10 o'clock Beijing time) to 16 o'clock (18 o'clock Beijing time) on the 7th, and the vote count began after the end, and the preliminary results are expected to be announced early on the 8th local time.
No violence was reported on the day of the polls, with nearly 800,000 security forces stationed at polling stations with the assistance of troops from across the country, Reuters said. That morning, turnout was low, and later the turnout increased and people began to wait in line outside the polling stations.
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Bangladesh said that by the end of the polls, only a very small number of voters had cast their ballots, and "they lacked interest and enthusiasm".
Jahangir Alam, secretary general of the Bangladesh Election Commission, said at a briefing that turnout was about 27.15 percent as of 3 p.m. local time. However, Badul Alam Majumder, an independent election observer and activist, claimed that although his organization did not officially observe the election, he was skeptical of the Election Commission's claims, arguing that it was "not a legitimate election at all."
Turnout in Bangladesh's parliamentary elections reached 79 percent in 2008, but fell to 20 percent in 2014 amid voter fears of violence and boycotts.
On January 7 this year, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina went to Dhaka City College to vote in the company of her family, and she said after the vote: "Bangladesh is a sovereign country and the people are my strength. ”
On January 7, 2024 local time, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Siddhik Bobby (right) spoke to the media after the vote. (Source: Visual China)
According to AFP, Hasina accused the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which boycotted the elections, of being a "terrorist organization", adding that she hoped that her party (the Awami League) would win a mandate from the people to start the next term in power, "I am doing my best to ensure that democracy continues in this country" and that "the elections are free and fair".
The opposition coalition dominated by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted the election, urging the public not to participate in the "sham" election on the 7th, and also calling for a two-day nationwide strike starting on the 6th.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party called the election "neither free nor fair" and accused the Awami League of supporting "puppet" candidates as independent candidates in an attempt to make the election look credible. But the Awami League denied the claim.
According to Reuters, Hasina rejected the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's request to remove her from power and let a neutral body run the election. Hasina accused the opposition of inciting anti-government protests that have killed 14 people since late October.
Hasina said she did not need to prove the credibility of the election to anyone, "what matters is whether the people of Bangladesh will accept this election." ”
Members of the Bangladesh National Assembly are elected by direct election in their constituencies. Members of Parliament can be independents or belong to a political party for a five-year term and can be re-elected indefinitely. If a party gains more than half of the 300 seats in parliament and becomes the majority party, it can form a government and appoint a prime minister.
Hasina, 76, the eldest daughter of Bangladesh's founding president, Mujibur Rahman, has served as Bangladesh's prime minister four times, from 1996 to 2001, from 2009 to early 2014, from 2014 to early 2019, and from 2019 to the present.
Since Hasina came to power, many Western media have acknowledged that she has developed Bangladesh's economy and clothing industry, leading the country's economy to rapid growth and rapid improvement in living standards. But critics claim it is "authoritarian," "violates human rights," and "suppresses free speech."
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