Transgender candidate eyes upset in one-sided Bangladesh election
- Anwara Islam Rani, who is running as an independent in Rangpur city, believes she has the backing to triumph over a former government minister
- The 31-year-old says she has received ‘unbelievably positive responses from the voters’ and hopes victory will make her a rare opposition voice in parliament
A transgender candidate in Bangladesh’s one-sided election has said she is hopeful of an upset victory that would make her a rare opposition voice in parliament after polls close on Sunday.
Anwara Islam Rani, 31, has drawn hundreds of people to her rallies since campaigning began last month and believes she has the backing to triumph over a former government minister.
“I have got unbelievably positive responses from the voters,” she told Agence France-Presse late on Friday.
“A win is possible if the vote is free and fair and people can cast their ballot in a peaceful atmosphere.”
But dozens of opposition parties have boycotted Sunday’s election, saying it will be neither free nor fair, with a repeat of the widespread irregularities of previous polls won by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.