Bangladesh election: Hasina’s win ‘nail in the coffin’ for democracy as troubles loom in divided nation
- Turnout was low after voters apparently heeded an opposition call to stay away, dismayed by the collapse in freedom of speech and safety to dissent in recent years
- Critics say Hasina’s unrelenting harassment of her rivals has chiselled away at Bangladesh’s democratic promise
Hasina’s ruling Awami League claimed 222 of 299 seats contested in Sunday’s election, according to unofficial results shared by the Election Commission on Monday, with independent candidates – dubbed “dummies” by the opposition – taking 76 seats with one yet to be declared.
Turnout was as low as 40 per cent, after the main opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP) boycotted the poll, saying it would be neither free nor fair unless Hasina stood down before voting to allow it to be held under a caretaker government.
The result guarantees the 76-year-old Hasina will extend her 14-year stay in office, a period of surging economic growth – and inequality – but which critics say has also been defined by rising authoritarianism, political violence and repression of rivals.
This Week in Asia found that across Dhaka, enthusiasm was in short supply at polling stations on Sunday as ruling party loyalists wearing Awami League badges appeared to have been deployed to beef up the thin lines.
One middle-aged woman, who gave her name only as Begum from Mohammadpur’s slum community in the sprawling capital, said she had been paid 500 taka (US$4.50) and a “biryani meal” to stay outside a polling station for the entire day to help the optics of a busy election.
“Observing the dismal voter turnout in this farcical election, it’s evident that the people of this country have rejected the legitimacy of the current and the coming government,” BNP senior leader Nazrul Islam Khan told This Week In Asia. “This is a significant victory for the BNP’s non-violent movement to reinstate democracy in our nation.”