Bangladesh Election. 27.15 percent voting till 3 pm, less number of people voted
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Dhaka. A small number of people turned up at polling stations for the general elections in Bangladesh on Sunday amid sporadic incidents of violence and a boycott by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Election Commission Secretary Mohammad Jahangir Alam said that 27.15 percent voting was recorded till 3 pm in the 12th parliamentary elections. Commission spokesperson said, “The voting percentage was highest in (South-Western) Khulna division, where 32 percent people cast their votes.
The lowest turnout was in (Northeastern) Sylhet division, where the figure was 22 percent. He said voting has been postponed at seven polling stations due to irregularities. Voting began at 8 am local time and continued till 4 pm local time. As there was no crowd at the polling stations, voters cast their votes without any hindrance. According to reports, polling was canceled at two polling stations, one in Narsingdi and one in Narayanganj. The Election Commission has ordered the arrest of the son of Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmood Humayun on allegations of election rigging in Narsingdi.
According to reports, bullets were fired during a clash between supporters of two candidates contesting from Chattogram-10 seat. Two people, Shanto Barua, 24, and Jamal, 35, were shot and taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital. Two people were injured after a clash broke out between supporters of an Awami League candidate and an independent candidate at a polling booth in Sharishabari, Jamalpur. Four people, including a child, were injured when two crude bombs exploded near a polling booth in Dhaka’s Hazaribagh.
According to the country’s election commission, voting took place at more than 42,000 polling stations. Voting is taking place in 299 seats out of 300 constituencies. Voting for one seat will be conducted later due to the death of a candidate. More than 1,500 candidates from 27 political parties are contesting the elections and apart from them there are also 436 independent candidates. More than 100 foreign observers, including three observers from India, will monitor the 12th general elections. More than 7.5 lakh members of law enforcement agencies and security forces have been deployed to maintain law and order during the voting. The Election Commission said that the results are expected from the morning of January 8.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cast her vote at the Dhaka City College polling station soon after the polling began. During this time his daughter Saima Wajid was also with him. Hasina (76) has been in power since 2009 and her party Awami League also won the last election in December 2018. It is certain that he will return to power for the fourth consecutive time in this one-sided election. Hasina told reporters after casting her vote, “Voting is going on smoothly in the country. I hope everyone will come to vote and use their franchise.
Maintain democratic flow in the country and work for the socio-economic development of the people.” He alleged that the opposition BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami alliance does not believe in democracy. He said, “People will vote as per their wish and we were able to create an atmosphere of voting. However, the BNP-Jamaat alliance carried out many incidents including arson.” Hasina, in response to a question, told reporters that India is a ”trusted friend” of Bangladesh. “We are very fortunate… India is our trusted friend,” he said. During the liberation war (1971), he not only supported us after 1975 when we lost our entire family – father, mother, brother, everyone (in the military coup) and only two of us (Hasina and her younger sister Rihana ) were left…they also gave us shelter. So we wish the people of India all the best.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his wife and his three sons were assassinated in their home by military officers in August 1975. His daughters Haseena and Rihanna survived the attack because they were abroad. When asked how acceptable this election is because of BNP’s boycott, the Prime Minister said that his responsibility is towards the people. “What is important for me is whether people accept this election or not,” he said. So I don’t care about their (foreign media) acceptance. It doesn’t matter what the terrorist group says or doesn’t say.
The BNP had boycotted the 2014 elections but participated in the 2018 elections. Prime Minister Hasina’s ruling Awami League is expected to win for the fourth consecutive time as former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s (78) party BNP has boycotted the election. Khaleda is under house arrest after being convicted on corruption charges. The opposition Jatiya Party is also included among the 27 political parties contesting the elections in the country. The rest are members of the ruling Awami League-led coalition, which experts have described as constituents of the “electoral bloc”. BNP has called for a 48-hour nationwide strike from Saturday.
The main opposition party has called for a 48-hour nationwide general strike from 6 am on January 6 to 6 am on January 8, boycotting the elections. The party claims that no election will be fair and credible under the current government. Announcing the strike, BNP spokesperson Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said its objective was to demand “the resignation of this illegal government, the formation of a neutral government and the release of all party leaders and workers from jail.”
In view of the elections, Hasina’s government has arrested thousands of opposition leaders and supporters. Human rights groups condemned the move as an attempt to paralyze the opposition. 15 other political parties in the country are also boycotting the elections. ‘What is the point of going to polling booths when the election is merely between two groups of the same party,’ Dhanmondi resident Mohammad Munir Hasan was quoted as saying by ‘The Daily Star’ newspaper. We all know that in the end the Awami League will win this race.” At least 14 polling stations in Bangladesh were set on fire on Saturday, including one on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.
Disclaimer: IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
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