The party led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won the general election in Bangladesh by a wide margin. Channel 24 reported on Sunday, based on in-depth nationwide census results, that the Awami League and its allies had already won 191 out of a total of 300 seats in parliament, and the opposition only five. The election was accompanied by bloody violence.
At least 17 people were killed until the polls closed, most of them in clashes between warring supporters of the ruling Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP). The opposition coalition led by the BNP complained of electoral fraud and called for new elections.
The election took place under the strictest security precautions, as the election campaign was already overshadowed by violence. Around 600,000 security forces were deployed throughout the country, including in the 40,000 polling stations. The hostility between Awami League and BNP has for many years shaped the policies of the 165-million-nation country in South Asia.
15,000 opponents of the government arrested
Shortly before the end of the election campaign, the authorities had also throttled the mobile Internet. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has called on providers to temporarily stop the high-performance 3G and 4G mobile networks on Thursday evening "to prevent propagation of propaganda and misinformation via the Internet," said a government official.
According to police, 13 people were killed in clashes between supporters of Awami League and BNP. Three more people shot the police - one of them allegedly tried to steal a ballot box. In the city of Bashkhali, police shot at opposition supporters who wanted to storm a polling station. According to police, an auxiliary police officer was also killed by opposition supporters.
According to the opposition, more than 15,000 government opponents have been arrested since the announcement of the November election. Opposition leader Khaleda Zia of the BNP has also been arrested on charges of corruption.
Fierce hostility of party leaders
Zia and Hasina maintain a bitter enmity that paralyzes the country again and again politically. For more than 25 years, the two women took turns at the top of the government. Hasina has had the upper hand in recent years, she has been governing since 2009.
After the election, 71-year-old Hasina, the daughter of the first Bangladeshi leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, faces her third consecutive term - her fourth overall. The official result was expected for Monday.
Hasina is credited with stimulating economic growth and taking in hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar. Critics accuse her of maintaining an authoritarian style of government, restricting freedom of the press and expression, and oppressing the opposition in power. They also chastise her for the tough handling of this week's student protests.
Complaints about electoral fraud
The 2014 general election boycotted the opposition for fear of counterfeiting. This time she took part in the vote, but complained about massive disabilities and electoral fraud. A BNP spokesman said there were "irregularities" in the allocation of 221 of the 300 parliamentary seats. Voters were prevented from entering the polling booths. Especially women were forced to vote for the Awami League.
BNP leader Kamal Hossain therefore rejected the election result. "We urge the electoral commission to declare this ridiculous result invalid immediately," said the opposition leader. He demanded to start a new vote as soon as possible under the supervision of a "neutral government".
Even the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, allied with the BNP, announced that it would not recognize the election result. An electoral commission spokesman said there had been "some" complaints about irregularities that would now be considered.