New | Bangladesh ruling party wins country’s 'most violent' election
Opposition boycott allows ruling Awami League to renew term, which many experts have deemed a 'hollow victory'
Bangladesh’s ruling party on Monday won one of the most violent elections in the country’s history, marred by street fighting, low turnout and a boycott by the opposition that made the results a foregone conclusion.
Although a win by the ruling Awami League was never in doubt, the chaos surrounding Sunday’s election plunges Bangladesh deeper into turmoil and economic stagnation, and could lead to more violence in a deeply impoverished country of 160 million.
We can’t say it was a universally acceptable election … but you can’t say it is unacceptable
Few were in the mood to celebrate after the carnage of election day when nearly 600 polling stations were torched or trashed.
On Monday, clashes stemming from the election killed three people in Dohar, outside the capital, according to police. At least 18 people were killed Sunday as police fired at protesters and opposition activists torched more than 100 polling stations.
“We are passing our days in fear and anxiety,” said Abdur Rahman, an accountant and resident of the capital, Dhaka, where soldiers patrolled the streets Monday. “These two major parties don’t care about anything. Only Allah knows what is in store now for us.”
The Awami League won 232 of the 300 elected seats, the Election Commission said Monday, far more than 151 required to form a government. Because of the boycott by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and some 20 other opposition factions, about half the seats were uncontested, allowing the Awami League to rack up many victories.