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Bangladesh election marred by deadly violence Bangladesh opposition reject 'farcical' election and demand new vote
(about 3 hours later)
At least four people have been killed in election violence as Bangladeshis cast their votes on Sunday in the country’s first contested national polls in a decade. At least 17 people have been killed during voting in Bangladesh’s first contested elections in a decade, as dozens of candidates pulled out of the contest claiming the ruling Awami League had rigged the vote to secure a record third consecutive term for the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
The deaths, one at the hands of police who claimed to be stopping an attack on a polling station, are the latest in a campaign marred by violence and the mass arrest of opposition leaders and activists. Members of opposing parties clashed throughout election day, which followed a violent seven-week campaign marred by attacks on candidates, journalists and the mass arrest of opposition activists.
More than 100m voters delivered a verdict on the decade-long rule of Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of the country’s foremost independence leader, who has overseen record economic growth but undermined the country’s democratic institutions. At least eight people died in scuffles between party workers, while another three were shot by officers, including an opposition activist who allegedly tried to attack a polling station in the southern town of Bashkhali.
Authorities in the country shut down 3G and 4G services to counter what they called “propaganda”, but opposition activists said the measure also prevented them reporting any irregularities in voting.
Bangladesh election: Sheikh Hasina heads for tainted victoryBangladesh election: Sheikh Hasina heads for tainted victory
The ruling Awami League said a party activist had died after suffering head injuries during a clash with supporters of the major opposition Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP). “He died on the way to hospital,” local police chief Najibul Islam told Agence France-Presse. “One person was killed from bullet wounds. We fired in self-defence,” the local police chief Mohammad Kamal Hossain told Agence France-Presse.
Another man died when police opened fire on opposition activists who they say had attacked a polling station in the southern town of Bashkhali. “One person was killed from bullet wounds. We fired in self-defence,” local police chief Mohammad Kamal Hossain said. A member of an auxiliary security force was also killed by activists from the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP), police alleged.
The deaths brought the number of people confirmed by police to have died due to election-related violence to 10. The electorate of more than 100 million voters – a third of them younger than 30 – were asked to deliver a verdict on the decade-long rule of Hasina, 71, who has overseen record economic growth but undermined the country’s democratic institutions. The result is expected to be known by Monday morning.
The BNP alleged police arrested several of its scrutineers on Saturday and that others were left afraid to attend polling stations to monitor voting. Government party MPs outnumbered those from the opposition at three polling station in the capital, Dhaka, attended by the Guardian on Sunday morning and the atmosphere was calm. Dhaka, the capital, was largely deserted after many workers returned to their villages to cast their votes and vehicles were banned for everyone except journalists and election observers. About 600,000 security personnel were deployed across the country to maintain order.
Opposition groups said the campaign leading up to Sunday had been the most repressed in the country’s 47-year history, claiming that more than 8,200 people opposed to Hasina have been arrested, and more than 12,000 injured. Authorities shut down 3G and 4G phone services to contain the spread of what they called propaganda. Opposition activists said the measure also prevented them from reporting any irregularities in voting.
At least six of its members or supporters have been killed during the seven-week campaign, the Awami League said. “I’m getting text messages of forged voting, illegal ballot staffing from this morning every single minute,” said Kamal Hossain, the coordinator of the alliance of opposition parties hoping to unseat Hasina. “This is an absolute disgrace to our democracy.”
The BNP said it was prevented from holding a final campaign event in the capital, where thousands of Awami League supporters rallied on Friday. He indicated he could reject the result and call for another poll. “If the election does not happen fairly today, there could be another election,” he told reporters.
Polls closed at 4pm local time (1000 GMT) and the result is expected to be known by Monday, though booth results will begin to be released from Sunday evening. The Guardian was denied access to three polling stations in Dhaka about 30 minutes after voting closed at 4pm, told by presiding officers that the ballots had already been counted.
Hasina, 71, is already the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history. A credible win would indicate voters are willing to tolerate the erosion of public institutions and their civil rights in exchange for relative political stability and economic growth that has led to a tripling in the country’s annual GDP. Bangladesh’s election commission told Reuters it was investigating allegations of vote-rigging coming from across the country. “Allegations are coming from across the country and those are under investigation,” said SM Asaduzzaman, a spokesman for the commission. “If we get any confirmation from our own channels then measures will be taken as per rules.”
A former exile who had most of her family gunned down in a military coup in 1974, Hasina has argued human rights are a peripheral concern to most Bangladeshis and that rural people in particular are more concerned with food and jobs, which she says her government has delivered. Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, said the election had passed off largely peacefully except for a few isolated incidents. “Yet opposition increase false allegations of irregularities,” he wrote on Twitter. “Trying controversy as opinion polls show landslide for governing party.”
Amid arrests and killings, Bangladesh and India must fight censorship | Arundhati Roy Opposition groups said the campaign leading up to Sunday had been the most repressed in the country’s 47-year history, claiming that more than 8,200 people opposed to Hasina were arrested and more than 12,000 injured.
“Democracy and development [have been] made to appear mutually exclusive, with the ruling party members and MPs going to the extent of rooting for development at the cost of democracy,” said Shahedul Anam Khan, a retired brigadier general and opinion columnist. Hasina is already the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history. A credible win would indicate voters are willing to tolerate the erosion of public institutions and their civil rights in exchange for relative political stability and economic growth that has led to a tripling in the country’s annual GDP.
Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed, who is seen as her possible successor, told Reuters on Saturday his mother believed that being “branded authoritarian by the western media now is a badge of honour”. Hasina, most of whose family were killed in a military coup in 1974, has argued human rights are a peripheral concern to most Bangladeshis and that rural people in particular are more concerned with food and jobs, which she says her government has delivered.
“Don’t you see anti-government posts on Facebook?” he said. “You are free to write whatever you want but you are not free to hurt someone. If you write something false and that causes an attack on someone, should there be no consequences?” “I believe that people will cast their votes in favour of Awami League to continue the pace of development,” Hasina told reporters in Dhaka after casting her vote.
The new US ambassador to Bangladesh, Earl Miller, issued a statement this week saying he was concerned at the attacks perpetrated against all parties. “However, it appears opposition party candidates have borne the brunt of most violence,” he added. She has said warnings of rampant human rights abuses issued by groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are exaggerations intended to draw funding.
Despite the healthy topline numbers, analysts say inequality has widened and labour surveys show 35% of people aged between 20 and 29 are not working or studying. The Centre for Policy Dialogue, a thinktank, has argued corruption during Hasina’s term has cost the country more than $2.5bn. Shahedul Anam Khan, a retired brigadier general and opinion columnist, wrote: “Democracy and development [have been] made to appear mutually exclusive, with the ruling party members and MPs going to the extent of rooting for development at the cost of democracy.”
Opposition groups have formed an alliance headed by lawyer Kamal Hossain, 82, an Oxford-educated lawyer who helped write the constitution and was a close associate of Hasina’s father, Mujibur Rahman. Despite healthy numbers on the economy, analysts say inequality has widened and labour surveys show 35% of people aged between 20 and 29 are not working or studying. The Centre for Policy Dialogue, a thinktank, has argued corruption during Hasina’s term has cost the country more than $2.5bn.
Hossain said the girl he has known since she was a young woman has changed while in power. “The urge for power can make someone who’s human into something less than human,” he told the Associated Press in an interview. Opposition groups have formed an alliance headed by Hossain, 82, an Oxford-educated lawyer who helped write the constitution and was a close associate of Hasina’s father, Mujibur Rahman.
But he has had to distance himself from some elements of the coalition, including former members of Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party banned since from contesting the polls since 2013, when the high court declared its beliefs were contrary to the secularist principles of the country’s constitution. Hossain said Hasina had changed while in power. “The urge for power can make someone who’s human into something less than human,” he told the Associated Press in an interview.
The BNP, the most powerful force in the coalition, was also accused of perpetrating human rights abuses during its most recent five-year term in power, which ended in 2009. But rights groups say Hasina’s clampdown on dissent has been more systematic and effective, with the BNP a historically weak force and its leader, Khaleda Zia, in prison after being convicted twice this year of corruption. He has had to distance himself from some elements of the coalition, including former members of Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party banned from contesting the polls since 2013, after the high court declared its beliefs were contrary to the secularist principles of the constitution.
The BNP’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir urged voters at a news conference on Thursday to “restore democracy” by voting for his coalition. “The government has lost moral support,” he said. The BNP, the most powerful force in the coalition, was accused of perpetrating human rights abuses during its most recent five-year term in power, which ended in 2009. But rights groups say Hasina’s clampdown on dissent has been more systematic and effective, with the BNP’s leader, Khaleda Zia, in prison after being convicted twice this year of corruption.
The BNP’s secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, said on Sunday a win for the opposition was “inevitable if the election is free and fair”.
BangladeshBangladesh
South and Central AsiaSouth and Central Asia
Sheikh HasinaSheikh Hasina
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