Ruling party wins Bangladesh elections as threat of sanctions loom
The ruling Awami League has secured victory in the Bangladeshi parliamentary elections on Monday, in a poll that was marred by violence, a low voter turnout and boycotted by the opposition.
Led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League won 232 of the 300 seats available, about half winning unopposed, with a voter turnout of just over 20%. Election related violence flared across the country, leaving at least 20 dead in 2 days and some 70 polling stations set alight.
Western governments, who refused to send election monitors, are reported to be considering withdrawing trade benefits from Bangladesh over the tumultuous election. The US State Department commented on Hasina’s victory, noting that they were “disappointed”, and went on to say,
“With more than half of the seats uncontested and most of the remainder offering only token opposition, the results of the just-concluded elections do not appear to credibly express the will of the Bangladeshi people”.
The Bangladeshi elections were also a point of discussion in a New York Times editorial entitled “Democracy in Peril in Asia” and a Bloomberg editorial entitled “Bangladesh Needs Real Elections”.
When questioned on the threat of economic sanctions from the West, Hasina responded,
“Why? What has Bangladesh done? I don’t understand why they will impose sanctions. Bangladesh hasn’t done anything. It’s our opposition that has done terrorist activities.”