Bangladesh Election Today: With No Opposition, Sheikh Hasina Set To Win Again. Top Points

Voting for the general election in Bangladesh began on Sunday as the country’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina eyes a fourth straight term and the fifth overall for her Awami League-led alliance.

The elections come against a backdrop of pre-election violence and fear for more as the country’s main opposition – the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) – and other like-minded parties have announced a boycott of the polls. The BNP has called for a two-day nationwide strike from Saturday.

The Opposition is boycotting the poll and encouraging the public to refrain from voting due to its allegations regarding the credibility of the elections. It alleges the ruling Awami League has propped up “dummy” candidates as independents to try to make the election look credible, a claim the ruling party denies.

Tensions have spiked in Bangladesh since October when a massive anti-government rally demanding Hasina’s resignation and a caretaker government to oversee the election turned violent. Hasina’s administration said there was no constitutional provision to allow a caretaker government.

Bangladesh elections: Here’s everything you need to know

Voting started across Bangladesh at 8am (local time) and will end at 5pm. The results are expected to start flowing from early on January 8.

A total of 119.6 million registered voters are eligible to vote at Sunday’s polls in more than 42,000 polling stations, according to the country’s Election Commission.

More than 1,500 candidates from 27 political parties are contesting in the election besides 436 independent candidates.

The 27 political parties that are contesting the elections include the opposition Jatiya Party (JAPA). The rest are members of the ruling Awami League-led coalition, also dubbed as “satellite parties” by experts.

Violence erupted on the eve of the election as a passenger train was set on fire, killing four persons. Several incidents of arson attacks on buildings have also been reported from across the country, according to Dhaka Tribune.

Bangladesh’s chief election commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has warned that the elections will be called if any irregularities in the polling process are found.

He addressed the nation on Saturday evening and said that vote rigging, ballot snatching, money transactions, and possible use of muscle power in favour of any candidate or candidates is strictly resisted, according to PTI.

Ahead of the elections, Hasina’s government arrested tens of thousands of rival politicians and supporters. The government officials argue that the arrests were made not because of political affiliations but rather specific criminal charges such as arson, reported the Associated Press.

Over 100 foreign observers, including three from India, will monitor the 12th general election, which is being held under tight security.

Hasina has presided over one of the world’s fastest-growing economies in South Asia in the past 15 years. She has been in power since 2009 and won the last election in December 2018, in an election marred by violence and accusations of poll rigging.

The country’s economy, once among the world’s fastest-growing, was rocked by violent protests in 2022 after a jump in the cost of living due to the global economic slowdown.

This forced Hasina’s government to desperately seek the International Monetary Fund’s support as the foreign reserves depleted as an energy crisis and high inflation triggered a balance of payments crisis.