Bangladesh election updates: Polls close in vote boycotted by opposition
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set to win a fifth term in office in the election boycotted by the main opposition party.
- PM Sheikh Hasina is set to win a fifth term – fourth straight – in general elections, boycotted by the main opposition party.
- Hasina voted just after ballots opened at 8am (02:00 GMT). Polls officially closed at 4pm (10:00 GMT).
- PM Sheikh Hasina is set to win a fifth term – fourth straight – in general elections, boycotted by the main opposition party.
- Hasina voted just after ballots opened at 8am (02:00 GMT). Polls officially closed at 4pm (10:00 GMT).
- Counting of votes will start shortly, with initial results expected by early Monday.
- Nearly 800,000 police, paramilitary and police auxiliaries are guarding the polls. Armed forces have also been deployed.
- Women make up almost half of the nearly 120 million eligible voters, while first-time voters number about 15 million.
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Here is a recap of today’s developments:
- Access to the website of The Daily Manab Zamin newspaper has been blocked across Bangladesh, one of the leading news outlets in the country.
- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is boycotting the election, a “terrorist” organisation.
- Independent elections analysts say the voter turnout was very low. The election commission says some 27 percent of voters, an hour before polls closed, had cast their ballot.
- Two people were shot amid clashes in Chattogram city, formerly known as Chittagong.
Photos: Quiet scenes at polling stations in Dhaka as voting ends
Voting ‘very quiet and peaceful’, says observer
The CEO of the Central Election Commission of Palestine, Hisham Kuhail, made the remarks during a media briefing in Dhaka.
“Voting processes in all the centres that we visited were very quiet and peaceful” Kuhail said, adding “People of your country should be proud of holding such a peaceful election.”
When asked about the voter turnout, Kuhail avoided the question. “We are here to judge the voting process, whether voters were allowed access [the polls], or whether voting took place systematically,” he said.
“I am not here to judge the political climate. For doing so, I need to stay here for at least a month.”
The main opposition BNP – the party of ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia – boycotted the polls, calling it a “sham”, after incumbent PM Sheikh Hasina denied its demand to resign and let a caretaker government run the elections.
WATCH: Is Bangladesh on path to become a one-party state?
Candidacy of Awami League candidate nullified by polling body
Election Commission Secretary Jahangir Alam has told Al Jazeera that Mostafizur Rahman Chowdhury’s candidacy has been cancelled for violating election norms and for threatening “law enforcement officials” just before polling officially closed.
“This was not the first time he has done this,” he said.
Polls now officially closed
Polling in Bangladesh’s national election is now officially closed as of 4pm (10:00 GMT).
Votes are going to be officially counted in 299 out of 300 parliamentary constituencies, an Election Commission official told Al Jazeera.
Votes in the northern district constituency of Noagaon had been cancelled after one of the candidates, Aminul Haque, died hours after being allocated an election symbol for polling day.
He passed away while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Dhaka this morning, his son Asiful told a local newspaper.
Not an ‘inclusive’ election, voters say
Polls will close soon and very few voters showed up to vote today.
At one of the busier voting centres where we are, it’s pretty much empty.
There is a lack of interest and enthusiasm. The city is quiet and sombre.
Not wanting to speak freely on camera, people are saying off the record this is all very predictable. It is not an inclusive election.
‘Lowest turnout I have ever seen’: Observer
Voter turnout is around 27.15 percent, as of 3pm local time (09:00 GMT), an hour before polls close, says Election Commission official Jahangir Alam during a briefing.
However, independent election observer and civil society activist Badul Alam Majumder says he is sceptical about Alam’s claim.
Majumder told Al Jazeera while his organisation Shujon is not officially observing the election this year, they don’t consider it a “proper election at all”.
“But we are monitoring it unofficially of course. It has a seriously low turnout – probably the lowest I have seen in my life,” he said.
When asked if he himself voted, Majumder smiled and said, “No comments on that”.
‘Robust’ policy for Rohingya primary concern: Activist
Rohingya activist Nay San Lwin says the Bangladesh elections were not of “particular importance” to the beleaguered refugees.
“Our primary concern is to establish a robust policy for the Rohingya by the Bangladeshi government,” he told Al Jazeera from Frankfurt, Germany.
Lwin, co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, said Bangladesh held “immense significance” for the Rohingya, calling it a “good neighbour” for having provided shelter to his people.
“Regardless of whether it is a new or existing government, our demands remain consistent. Our primary objective is to return to our homeland in Myanmar with full rights, protection, and dignity,” he said.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya live in poorly-funded camps in Bangladesh, most of them after fleeing a 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar.
Website of newspaper critical of gov’t remains blocked
Earlier on Sunday, we reported that access to the website of The Daily Manab Zamin newspaper has been blocked across Bangladesh.
Sajid Hoque, news editor at the Daily Manab Zamin, said the paper had been “flooded with calls and messages” from readers who said “that they cannot access our website”.
“Manab Zamin’s website is not accessible from across the country,” the paper posted on Facebook.
The newspaper’s print edition was still available on the streets.
International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which ranks Bangladesh 163rd out of 180 countries in its world press freedom index, warned of the government’s “harmful grip on information” ahead of the vote.
Young voters disillusioned with ‘illegal’ election
Some young voters in Bangladesh feel voting in the election doesn’t make much sense.
Hafsa Islam Rayta, 19, also chose to stay away from the polls. Rayta’s father Sajedul Islam Suman, a well-known leader of the opposition BNP, went missing before the 2014 election, an alleged victim of state-sponsored enforced disappearances.
Rayta told Al Jazeera she didn’t go to vote because she believed this was “an illegal election”.
“This illegal government which came to power without people’s mandate is going to be elected again in same fashion. Why should I be a part of it?” Rayta said. “Besides, they had taken away my father from my life to stay in power.”
Afnan Akhand, 20, told Al Jazeera he wished to vote “but I would be mocked by friends if I went to the booth”.
“None of my friends are going there. We don’t see the point of this election,” he said.
Photos: Low voter turnout in ‘farcical’ election
PM Hasina calls main opposition party a ‘terrorist’ organisation
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is boycotting the election, a “terrorist” organisation.
She made the comment after casting her vote at Dhaka City College, alongside her sister and daughter.
“I am trying my best to ensure that democracy should continue in this country,” she said, urging people to cast their ballots and “show their faith in the democratic process”.
Turnout remains low: Voting officials
Presiding officers at the voting centres visited by Al Jazeera are reporting a notably low voter turnout, well below 20 percent.
The BNP has announced a 48-hour nationwide strike that started on Saturday, potentially influencing the turnout.
Two people shot amid scuffle in Chattogram: Reports
The shooting took place following a clash between supporters of Awami League-nominated candidate Mohiuddin Bachchu and independent candidate Mohammad Manjur Alam, the Dhaka Tribune is reporting.
Chattogram Divisional Commissioner Tofail Islam confirmed the incident, noting reports of crude bomb blasts during the confrontation, the daily added.
WATCH: Bangladesh goes to the polls boycotted by the opposition
Bangladesh’s main opposition party is boycotting the election, saying there is no guarantee of fairness and is demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Hasina, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term.
Watch our video report below:
Opposition parties protest in Dhaka
An alliance of 12 small parties in support of BNP’s election boycott call is protesting in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka.
“Stop this farcical election. Give back us our democratic right,” they chanted.
Parties in the alliance include the Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar), Bangladesh Kalyan Party, Bangladesh Labour Party and the Islami Oikya Jote.
A group of left-wing parties is also demonstrating in the streets against the ongoing voting, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Hasina and holding of a new election under a neutral caretaker government.
Polling agents of independent candidate forced out of voting centres
Amin Chowdhury, secretary for independent candidate Zafar Alam of the southern district of Cox’s Bazar, has told Al Jazeera that law enforcers and Awami League workers assaulted opposition polling agents and threw them out of most polling centres in the constituency.
“None of our polling agents is allowed to enter those centres,” Chowdhury said, adding that they went to one particular centre where witnesses told them they had seen ballots being stuffed. “We couldn’t even verify whether there was actual ballot stuffing as we were beaten out of that centre.”
Earlier, Chowdhury alleged that intelligence officials threatened many polling and presiding officers in that constituency to make sure ballot boxes have sealed ballots of one “selected candidate”. He also shared a phone record of the presiding officer who expressed serious fear as after being threatened by them.
“This is no election. They are just waiting to announce the candidate,” Chowdhury said.
Lack of ‘consensus’ frustrating youth in Bangladesh
Analyst Reaz Ahmad says while young people in the country acknowledge Bangladesh’s recent economic successes, the ongoing tensions between the parties have left many frustrated.
“They are frustrated that rival political parties in Bangladesh have not been able to reach any consensus when it comes to major crises, be it political or economic – like youth development or lack of employment,” the executive director of the Dhaka Tribune said.
Moreover, Ahmad noted, while it was still early in the day, voter turnout was likely to remain low due to contrasting calls from the ruling and opposition parties.
The main opposition BNP has called on its supporters to boycott the election after Prime Minister Hasina denied its demand to resign and let a caretaker government run the elections.
BNP denounces ‘farcical elections’
“Even in an opposition-less, one-sided election, Awami League is stuffing ballot,” said Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, the joint secretary-general of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), talking to the media on Sunday.
Earlier we reported of alleged ballot stuffing at a polling station in the district of Narsingdi.
Rizvi, one of the few top BNP leaders who is still out of jail, led a procession on Sunday morning and urged people not to vote in this “farcical election”.
The BNP declared a 48-hour nationwide strike starting Saturday.
Clashes reported in southeastern city
Violent clashes broke out between BNP activists and police in Chandgaon area of Chattagram city, formerly known as Chittagong.
Pankaj Dutta, a top police official, told The Daily Star that a group of BNP workers blocked the roads and tried to create anarchy. “They threw stones at police who retaliated with shotguns,” he said.
In Photos: Bangladeshis cast their votes in Old Dhaka
Voting suspended in one polling station
Alleged ballot stuffing has led to the suspension of voting at a polling station in the central district of Narsingdi – some 70km (43.5 miles) away from the capital.
A local reporter, quoting the district’s returning officer Badiul Alam, told Al Jazeera balloting at the Ibrahimpur Government Primary School centre was halted within half an hour as Alam “found irregularities”.
The reporter who preferred to be unnamed, said some governing party members entered the centre and started stuffing sealed ballot papers in the box.
As the presiding officer complained and law enforcers intervened, the ballot stuffing was halted and the centre was shut down.