This weekend’s election in Bangladesh appears to be bringing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a fourth term in office thanks to a boycott by the opposition.
Exiled opposition leader Tarique Rahman has called the election a “sham” intended to solidify Hasina’s control. In 2023, Rahman’s party organised a months-long protest movement calling for the prime minister to resign, during which thousands of its supporters were detained and at least 11 people were killed. In an interview with Agence France-Presse, he stated that his party should not take part in a referendum that has a “predetermined” result.
Rights organisations worry that the 170 million-person nation is on the verge of virtual one-party dictatorship. The United States, which sanctioned Bangladesh’s security forces in 2021 over claims of violating human rights, and other nations have also expressed alarm over how this week’s vote is being handled.
Since taking office in 2009, Hasina has consistently maintained that the election would be legitimate despite reports from observers that her party’s victories in the 2014 and 2018 polls were tainted by irregularities. She said at a campaign event on Saturday, “Go to the polling stations and cast votes in the morning to show the world that we know how to hold the election in a free and fair manner.”
However, some voters see little incentive to cast a ballot when the outcome is already certain.
Results of the country’s 12th general election—which took place after it gained independence from Pakistan in 1971—are anticipated early on Monday. Votes are anticipated to be counted on Sunday evening.
