Bangladeshi ruling party Awami League has won a violent general election whose outcome was never in doubt, after a boycott by the main opposition party.
Fewer than half the 300 parliamentary seats were contested – reports say the Awami League has a two-thirds majority.
At least 18 people died during Sunday’s vote and dozens more in the run-up. Clashes on Monday killed another three.
Voter turnout appears to have been particularly poor, with just over 20% reportedly taking part.
More than 70% voted in the 2008 parliamentary elections, with officials saying the fear of violence and the boycott kept many away this time.
PM Sheikh Hasina was swift to claim her party had won fairly.
“The people have cast their votes spontaneously, upheld the value of democracy and dumped terrorism. We will form our government,” Sheikh Hasina told a news conference.
The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led a nationwide 48-hour strike beginning on Saturday after its leader Khaleda Zia urged supporters to “completely boycott” what she called a “scandalous farce” of an election.
At least 18 people died during Bangladeshi elections and dozens more in the run-up
Sheikh Hasina had rejected the opposition’s demands for her to step down and set up a neutral government to oversee the poll.
The BNP has demanded that results be declared null and void and has called for another 48-hour general strike to begin on Monday.
Widespread violence erupted across the country on Sunday. Scores of polling stations – many of them schools – were torched, and violent clashes broke out between opposition activists and police.
With most votes counted, the Awami League won 105 of the 147 contested seats, with allied parties or independent candidates taking the remaining 34, reports said.
Repolling will take place in eight constituencies.
The ruling party also held 127 seats that were unopposed, giving it 232 seats in all. A final result is expected later on Monday.
The opposition strike is only the latest in a string of protests by the BNP and its allies – including the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party – that has seen a blockade of roads, railways and waterways and the closure of shops, schools and offices.
In the run-up to the polls, scores of opposition supporters died in police shootings and dozens of commuters were burnt to death by protesters throwing petrol bombs at strike-defying buses.
All elections since 1991 have been held under a neutral caretaker administration to ensure that voting is not fixed.
But the Awami League abolished the caretaker system in 2010, arguing that it was no longer necessary.
The government has insisted the BNP should take part in the polls within the existing constitutional framework.
Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia – who are bitter political enemies – have alternated from government to opposition for most of the past two decades.
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Bangladeshi opposition activists and police clashed as the country is holding a general election boycotted by the opposition.
At least three people were killed in unrest on Sunday. Scores have died in the run-up to the polls.
Dozens of polling stations have been torched and voting is suspended at more than 100. Polling is said to be thin.
The opposition is boycotting the vote with a two-day strike against what it called a “scandalous farce”.
PM Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League is assured of victory, with government candidates already declared victors by default in many seats.
She rejected demands for her to step down and a neutral government to oversee the poll, as in previous years.
“The polls opened across the country at 08:00,” said election commission spokesman SM Asaduzzaman. Voting will continue until 16:00.
In more than half of constituencies there is no voting at all, because the opposition boycott has led to government candidates being declared winners in advance.
Police opened fire as protesters tried to take over polling station in northern Rangpur district, killing three people.
In Nilphamari district, police also fired on about two dozen protesters. One person died.
Bangladesh votes amid violence and boycott
In the opposition stronghold of Bogra, the police chief told AFP: “We’ve seen thousands of protesters attack polling booths and our personnel at a number of locations with Molotov cocktails and petrol bombs.”
Media reported that more than 100 polling stations were torched overnight – adding to a similar number the night before.
One polling station in Dhaka’s Mirpur district recorded only 25 ballots out of 24,000 registered voters in the first two hours, AP reported.
Security is tight, with some 50,000 troops reportedly deployed around the country for the election.
Given the arson attacks and attempts to steal ballot papers and despite the heavy police presence, voters are wary about how secure they would be in coming to the polling stations.
The opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP) began a nationwide 48-hour strike on Saturday a day after its leader Khaleda Zia urged supporters to “completely boycott” what she called a “scandalous farce” of an election.
She accused the government of placing her under house arrest – something the authorities deny.
The strike is only the latest in a string of protests by the BNP and its allies – including the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party – that has seen a blockade of roads, railways and waterways and the closure of shops, schools and offices.
In the run-up to the polls, scores of opposition supporters died in police shootings and dozens of commuters were burnt to death by protesters throwing petrol bombs at strike-defying buses.
All elections since 1991 have been held under a neutral caretaker administration to ensure that voting is not fixed.
But the Awami League abolished the caretaker system in 2010, arguing that it was no longer necessary. It used its two-thirds majority in parliament to make the change.
The government has insisted that the BNP should take part in the polls within the existing constitutional framework. It says that the opposition should discuss any changes it wants after the vote.
Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia – who are bitter political enemies – have alternated from government to opposition for most of the past two decades.
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Bangladesh’s main opposition party and its allies have decide to begin a three-day strike over the government’s failure to set up a caretaker cabinet in the run-up to the country’s general elections.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party party (BNP), led by Khaleda Zia, is calling for the government to step aside ahead of the polls due in January.
The strike is going ahead despite pleas from PM Sheikh Hasina.
In comes after at least six people were killed during fresh unrest on Friday.
The violence flared as police and protesters clashed in some parts of the country, leaving more than 100 injured.
The strike began at 06:00, with the BNP and its Islamist ally the Jamaat-e-Islam hoping to bring the country to a standstill.
Three people were killed and dozens injured in Bangladesh Friday when security officials clashed with opposition supporters trying to defy a ban on protests, in Dhaka
They want to force the prime minister to allow a neutral caretaker administration to oversee the election process.
But Sheikh Hasina, who heads the Awami League, has rejected such a plan saying there is no scope for unelected people to supervise the vote.
Khaleda Zia announced that the national shutdown would be going ahead from Sunday, despite a rare phone call with Sheikh Hasina in which the the prime minister asked her to call off the strike.
It is thought to be the first time the bitter rivals have spoken directly for a decade.
The BNP and its allies are refusing to participate in elections under current constitutional provisions, which do not allows for a neutral, caretaker government, or require the incumbent prime minister to step down during the interim period.
The opposition fears the government will rig the polls if it remains in power.
Friday’s violence came as security officials opened fire on opposition supporters trying to defy a ban on protests.
Two people were killed in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar, according to reports.
Local media said at least two people had died in the central district of Chandpur, while protesters also died in the northern town of Jaldhaka and the northern district of Nilphamari.
Demonstrators set vehicles on fire in the capital Dhaka.
A series of rulings against Jamaat have led to violent protests across Bangladesh, with more than 150 people killed in clashes with police since the beginning of this year.
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