Politics

1 killed as voting in Bangladesh parliamentary election ends

Dhaka, Jan 7 (EFE) .– Voting in Bangladesh’s parliamentary elections concluded on Sunday amid low voter turnout and sporadic clashes that left at least one person dead and several injured.

A ruling party supporter was hacked to death by a rival group in central Munshiganj district around 10 a.m,, local police chief Amirul Islam said.

In the port city Chittagong, two people were hit by bullets when supporters of two groups clashed, said Additional Police Comissioner Mahtab Uddin.

“The incident happened some 100 meters away from the polling station, and we managed to bring the situation under control,” Mahtab said.

Clashes were also reported by local media in central Faridpur, northeast Jamalpur, eastern Cumilla, and western Jashore districts.

Though many onlookers gathered outside the polling centers, voter turnout was poor, especially in the capital, Dhaka.

Only 35 votes were cast among 2,590 in the first two hours until 10 a.m. in the Kallyanpur Girls High School center.

Tawhidul Islam, who came to vote at the center, faced no queue with hardly any voters present.

“I am really happy that I could cast my vote. I feel it is my obligation to vote,” Islam told EFE outside the center.

Election Commission secretary Jahangir Alam said at a briefing that 27.15 percent vote was cast until 3 p.m., an hour before the closure of the vote.

Some 1,900 candidates from 28 political parties, mostly endorsed by the ruling Awami League, contested the election.

Voting was held to elect representatives to 299 of the 300 parliamentary seats as authorities suspended the election in one seat after a candidate died.

Voting continued until 4 p.m. local time before the authorities began counting the results.

Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies have boycotted the election and observed a 48-hour general strike starting Saturday, urging people to refrain from voting.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling Bangladesh Awami League are poised to win their fourth consecutive term, as Islamists and leftists have also boycotted the election.

The decision to boycott stems from Hasina’s refusal to dissolve her government and establish an interim administration to oversee the elections, a crucial demand from the opposition following allegations of poll fraud in 2018.

Hasina expressed her confidence about winning the vote.

“We will win the election…we will form the government. No doubt about it,” Hasina told reporters after casting her vote at a Dhaka center.

Calling the opposition BNP a “terrorist” organization, Hasina said they perpetrated many incidents, including arson attacks on a train and buses, creating obstacles for people, bomb attacks, and hurling crude bombs.

“Those who did this, I would say they don’t believe in democracy… people of Bangladesh did not dance to the tune of their strike,” she said.

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