Bangladesh goes to polls today, Hasina poised to win fourth consecutive term

Dhaka, January 6

Bangladesh will go to the polls on Sunday in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to win a fourth straight term in the absence of main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which on Saturday began a 48-hour nationwide strike against the “illegal government” amidst sporadic violence.

‘Lack of participation’

• Bangladesh’s Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal says the voting lacks completeness since a major opposition party is not participating. He says all steps are in place for the general election.

Day after train fire, 8 arrested

• The police on Saturday arrested eight persons, including a prominent leader of opposition BNP, Nabi Ullah Nabi, for planning and financing Friday’s arson attack on a train in the heart of Dhaka that left at least four dead.

The election commission said it had nearly completed the preparedness for voting in the 300 constituencies across the country and also ensured security arrangements. A total of 119.6 million registered voters are eligible to vote at Sunday’s polls in more than 42,000 polling stations, according to the country’s Election Commission.

More than 1,500 candidates from 27 political parties are contesting in the election besides 436 independent candidates. Over 100 foreign observers, including three from India, will monitor the 12th general election, which is being held under tight security.

“We want our general election to be observed not only nationally but internationally as well. Bangladesh is a member of the UN and also a signatory in different international instruments like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights),” Bangladesh Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal said.

The election commission said voting would start at 8 am and end at 5 pm. The results are expected to start flowing early on January 8.

Prime Minister Hasina’s ruling Awami League is expected to win for a straight fourth time as the main opposition, BNP of former premier Khaleda Zia, who is under house arrest, as a convict of graft charges, boycotted the polls.

Hasina, 76, in a nationally televised address this week has urged the pro-democratic and law-abiding parties not to fuel ideas that “disrupt” the country’s constitutional process.

Meanwhile, claiming that the Commonwealth Secretary General’s call ahead of election had shocked the people of Bangladesh, the main opposition said her call “misses many crucial issues” and “does not reflect the ground reality” in the country. Calling for a 48-hour strike starting at 6 am on Saturday, the BNP has boycotted the Sunday polls amid violence.

The Commonwealth Secretary General (SG), Patricia Scotland KC, had on Friday called on all political and civic leaders in Bangladesh “to contribute to a conducive environment for citizens to peacefully exercise their right to vote” on January 7.

Local media tally suggested violence in the run-up to the elections killed at least 15 people in the past three months since October 28 last year even as Bangladesh witnessed a couple of train-related arson incidents among several incidents of violence in recent months. The ruling Awami League party has accused the BNP of carrying out the sabotage, which the opposition party has denied.