Sheikh Hasina has secured her fifth time period as Bangladeshi prime minister in an election whose end result was determined the second its schedule was introduced in early November when the principle opposition boycotted the poll.
The shock was who got here second.
As an alternative of any political occasion, impartial candidates secured a complete of 45 seats, the second highest after Hasina’s Awami League (AL), which received 152, creating an issue of discovering a parliamentary opposition.
The present opposition, the Jatiya Celebration, managed to safe simply eight of the 300 parliamentary seats.
Virtually all of the profitable impartial contenders had been individuals who had been rejected by the AL however had been requested by the occasion management to face as “dummy candidates” to offer the election a aggressive veneer in entrance of the world.
“This can be a weird end result of a weird election,” Shahidul Alam, a famend Bangladeshi rights activist and photographer, advised Al Jazeera. “Dummy candidates in a dummy election will now result in a dummy parliament.”
Shunned by the Bangladesh Nationalist Celebration (BNP) – the AL’s fundamental political opponent – which wished the balloting held underneath a impartial entity as an alternative of Hasina’s administration, Sunday’s “one-sided election” was only a “mere formality” to place Hasina again in energy once more, analysts say.
The one suspense, they added, was voter turnout, after Western governments put stress on Hasina’s authorities to make sure a free, truthful and participatory ballot.
After polling closed at 4pm (10:00 GMT on Sunday), the Election Fee (EC) stated turnout was 40 p.c.
However many had been uncertain it was even that prime.
“I don’t learn about the remainder of the nation however I believe I’ve not seen such an empty Dhaka in years,” Abdullah Yusuf, an engineer within the Dhanmondi space of the capital, advised Al Jazeera.
“It felt just like the preliminary COVID days. I crossed two polling centres noon and didn’t see many individuals apart from Awami League activists who had been carrying badges. EC’s declare of 40 p.c is sort of absurd.”
‘Ridiculous’
Some analysts, in the meantime, pointed to confusion on the EC announcement.
“It’s laborious to imagine the turnout was 40 p.c, particularly given the truth that the chief election commissioner himself uttered 28 p.c first whereas briefing the media after which modified it to 40 p.c abruptly,” stated Sakhawat Hossain, a former election commissioner.
The turnout determine, which was proven on the dashboard on the EC headquarters hours after the briefing, was 28 p.c, and a photograph of it was broadly circulated within the nation’s social media and acquired criticism. Al Jazeera checked and verified that determine.
EC earlier declared at an hour earlier than the ballot closing that the turnout was about 27 p.c. Al Jazeera visited no less than 10 polling stations throughout the capital Dhaka within the final hour and didn’t see any voters.
Sharmin Murshid, the top of the reputed election observer organisation Brotee, advised Al Jazeera {that a} bounce from 27 to 40 in a span of an hour or so was “ridiculous” and had “tainted the EC repute severely”.
“It was a certain strategy to additional lose the boldness of the individuals and credibility which it didn’t have to begin with,” she stated. “This was not an election, slightly it was an train in casting votes by one occasion for one occasion,” she added.
BNP leaders, in the meantime, termed even 28 p.c very excessive, saying that a lot of the polling cubicles throughout the nation had been empty all through the day. The opposition occasion earlier declared a 48-hour “hartal”, equal to a complete strike, from Saturday morning, which it believed additionally decreased turnout.
“In most photos and photographs shared in media and social platforms, you’d discover pictures of canines standing, mendacity down and basking within the solar together with police and some Awami League activists,” stated Abdul Moyeen Khan, a senior BNP chief, whereas briefing journalists after the election, “However no voters.”
Khan stated individuals had heeded their name to boycott ballots and present a “crimson card” to the election.
“Even Awami League supporters didn’t trouble to go to cubicles to solid their votes as a result of they knew their candidates would win anyway,” he added.
Issues on legitimacy
AL leaders, nonetheless, stated the BNP’s plan to foil the election via “hartal” and “arson assaults” had not paid off as a result of individuals did end up to vote.
“This can be a victory for our democracy,” Obaidul Quader advised the media after discovering a transparent lead in ballot outcomes, “Folks give BNP’s terrorism befitting reply via balloting.”
Quader additionally stated most individuals voted for his or her most well-liked candidates with none intimidation or interference in voting. “This was one of the vital peaceable elections of the nation,” he stated.
Whereas the final two nationwide elections had been tainted with dozens of deaths and extreme violence, Sunday’s ballot noticed just one loss of life and only a few clashes, making it one of the vital peaceable polls within the South Asian nation’s historical past.
“Folks of your nation ought to be pleased with holding such a peaceable election,” Hisham Kuhail, the CEO of the Central Election Fee of Palestine, considered one of a number of overseas observers of the ballot, advised a media briefing afterwards.
Kuhail, nonetheless, averted questions on voter turnout and stated he was assessing solely the technicalities of the voting course of – whether or not voters had been allowed entry and whether or not voting occurred systematically.
“I can not touch upon the political situation right here. For that I want to remain no less than a month,” he added.
Russian observer Andrei Shutov additionally stated the voting course of was systematic and peaceable. “This election is professional,” he added.
AKM Wahiduzzaman, the knowledge and know-how affairs secretary of the BNP, stated there was no query it was peaceable as a result of “there have been no voters”.
“However it’s clearly not professional,” he stated.
The Awami League’s victory, he added, was “unlawful and illegitimate” as a result of individuals didn’t “legitimise them via votes”.
