Amidst the voting boycott campaign initiated by the opposition, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) regarding the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, the President of the Awami League (AL), has once again secured her name for the fifth term as the Bangladeshi PM.
As per the report of the Bangladeshi Election Commission, Hasina’s led Awami League (AL) secured 222 seats. Jatiya Party, another opposition party, got 11 seats, and other independent candidates managed to achieve 63 seats out of 300 parliamentary seats.
Earlier, BNP was raising demands to organize the parliamentary elections of Bangladesh under an interim government. However, the demand was strictly rejected by Sheikh Hasina-led government. On the other hand, many western countries were also compelling Hasina to hold "free and fair" elections.
Furthermore, the recent election in Bangladesh has also recorded the second-lowest voter count since the restoration of democracy in 1991.
Further, the delayed announcement of results by the Election Commission has also led to several allegations of ‘violence and allegations to the electoral process.
Moreover, the winning independent candidates were rejected by the Awami League (AL), and their leadership was labeled as “dummy candidates.”
Responding to these malicious allegations, many renowned Bangladeshi activists have labeled the recent election in Bangladesh as a ‘bizarre election.’ They have also said that “Dummy candidates in an unfair election will now lead to a dummy parliament.”
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which wanted the elections to be held under a neutral government without Hasina’s led administration, has stated Sunday’s “one-sided election” was just a “mere formality” to put Hasina back in power again, analysts say.
Likewise, Abdul Moyeen Khan, a senior BNP leader, while briefing journalists after the election, said, “In most pictures and footage shared on media and social platforms, you would find photos of dogs standing, lying down, and basking in the sun along with police and a few Awami League activists,” “But no voters.”
Khan also added that people had noticed their call to boycott the elections and show a “red card” to the election. “Even Awami League supporters didn’t bother to go to booths to cast their votes because they knew their candidates would win anyway,” Khan further added.
Additionally, as per the reports, several videos went viral on the social media platforms on Sunday, 7th December, showing Bangladeshi polling officials stamping ballot papers by themselves inside the polling booths.