Dhaka: Voting in Bangladesh’s 12th national elections began Sunday amid low voter turnout and tight security. Many polling centres reported low voter turnout in the first few hours of voting, which started at 8 am.
Heavy security is in place in light of the pre-poll violence reported from parts of the country Friday, including when a train was set on fire in Dhaka, killing five people.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to win a fourth straight term in an election that has been termed as “rigged” by both her political opposition and much of the Western media.
After casting her vote, Hasina addressed the media and said, “Bangladesh is a sovereign country and people are my power. I have faith in the people and Awami League will win.”
She urged citizens to exercise their right to vote and claimed that a conducive environment had been created for the polls. “Despite the obstacles, the people of the country have become aware of their right to vote and understood the importance of elections. People will vote as they wish. We have managed to create an environment for voting,” she added.
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Opposition boycotts polls
Bangladesh’s main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), put out pictures on their official Facebook page of empty polling booths Sunday with the hashtags “#DummyVote” and “#ElectionBoycott”.
The BNP and its allies boycotted the polls after the Sheikh Hasina government refused to accept their demand for the election to be conducted under a caretaker government. The BNP claimed that no election under the incumbent government would be “fair and credible”.
Bangladesh’s Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal told reporters that he did not find any polling agent for any candidates other than those from the ruling Awami League.
“I have come to know that in some places 25 votes were cast, 40 votes were cast. But this is early morning, I hope that the turnout will increase with time,” The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi English daily, quoted him as saying.
“I haven’t found any polling agents of contesting candidates other than Awami League. I doubt other candidates have the capacity to field polling agents,” he added.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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