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Bangladesh’s January 7 normal election, as anticipated, returned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League to energy for a fourth consecutive time period, in a ballot boycotted by the opposition.
In response to outcomes introduced by the Election Fee on January 9, the AL received 222 out of 300 seats. An additional 62 seats went to independents – a lot of whom have been alleged to be “dummy candidates” that have been truly AL supported however urged to run independently to provide the election the veneer of reputable competitors. The one different occasion to notch multiple seat was the Jatiya Social gathering. The outcome leaves Bangladesh’s parliament with none significant opposition but once more.
Notably, most of Bangladesh’s opposition events – together with the Bangladesh Nationalist Social gathering – refused to participate within the polls below Hasina’s rule as an alternative demanding a return to the outdated system of group elections below a impartial caretaker authorities. The BNP boycotted the primary elections below Hasina’s present stint in energy, in 2014, however took half within the 2018 polls, solely to be pissed off by successful a mere seven seats in an election extensively marred by poll box-stuffing and blocked voting stations, amongst different irregularities.
BNP leader-in-exile Tarique Rahman, in a pre-election interview with The Diplomat, referred to as the polls “farcical” and “fraudulent.” He predicted the low voter turnout, saying that “voters have already rejected this election.”
Positive sufficient, observers on the bottom reported seeing empty streets and polling stations on the day of the election. Bangladesh’s Election Fee initially reported turnout at a dismal 28 % earlier than inexplicably boosting that determine to 40 %.
Even the upper determine would characterize a steep drop-off from the 2018 polls, when 80 % of voters have been mentioned to have solid ballots. One notable distinction: The earlier elections truly had main opposition events participating, although the top outcome prompt the polls have been removed from free and honest. Dealing with little true selection on the poll field this 12 months, many Bangladeshis opted to easily keep house.
With Hasina now ensconced in energy for one more time period, her authorities’s crackdown on dissent is predicted to proceed. Earlier than the polls, Bangladeshi authorities arrested 1000’s of BNP leaders and activists. Media freedom has additionally been sharply curtailed, in accordance with worldwide watchdog teams just like the Committee to Shield Journalists and Reporters With out Borders.
Recognizing Bangladesh’s worrying slide right into a one-party regime, the US tried to strain the AL to carry free and honest elections, together with by threatening “to impose visa restrictions on Bangladeshi people chargeable for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election course of in Bangladesh.” These going through sanctions “embody members of legislation enforcement, the ruling occasion, and the political opposition,” the State Division mentioned in a press release in September.
The coverage, whereas extensively mentioned in Bangladesh and giving hope to the BNP, doesn’t seem to have had a lot impact. The election outcomes have been simply as anticipated, with no significant opposition participation. The primary impression could also be injury to Bangladesh-U.S. relations, as Hasina bitterly accused Washington of immediately looking for regime change.
To date, the US has not responded to Bangladesh’s election outcomes. Each India and China, in the meantime, have congratulated Hasina on her victory, a transparent signal that the AL will discover help in New Delhi and Beijing no matter what Washington decides.
The election outcomes have been by no means doubtful, however the query of “what now” nonetheless lingers. First, there’s the open query of how the US, and probably Europe, might reply. Onerous-hitting sanctions might significantly injury Bangladesh’s ailing economic system, as all 5 of the nation’s high export locations are the U.S. and European Union members (Germany, Spain, the UK, and Poland).
In the meantime, the BNP – and the banned Islamic occasion Jamaat-e-Islami – have each been ready to attract tens of 1000’s of supporters to mass rallies prior to now 12 months, suggesting the potential for road agitation sooner or later. The nation has additionally confronted a surge of economic-related protests not too long ago, significantly in its readymade garment business, a vital staple of Bangladesh’s economic system.
Discontent is clearly operating excessive as Hasina begins her fourth consecutive time period on the helm. And with no actual likelihood to impact change by way of the poll field, Bangladeshis should discover one other outlet to specific their frustrations.
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