07 Jan 2024, 10:46 PM (IST)
07 Jan 2024, 9:42 PM (IST)
A US poll observer in Bangladesh declared that the 12th general election in the South Asian nation was conducted without any hindrance and in a fair manner. Speaking to reporters, observer Jim Bates stated, "I would like to emphasize that the election has been conducted freely and fairly," as reported by Rtv News.
07 Jan 2024, 8:57 PM (IST)
Awami League candidate Shakib Al Hasan has taken the lead with a big margin of votes in the Magura-1 parliamentary constituency.
According to Rtv News, initial results from three centers in the constituency reveal that Shakib is well in the lead.
Of the 3,270 votes cast in those three centers under the boat symbol, Shakib secured a substantial advantage.
07 Jan 2024, 6:49 PM (IST)
The website of one of Bangladesh's key newspapers is online after the publication said on Sunday (Jan 7) it had been blocked, as the country is holding its 12th general election. Read more
07 Jan 2024, 5:47 PM (IST)
Protesters take to the streets of Dhaka to boycott Sunday's election, which is guaranteed to give Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a fifth term in office. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), whose ranks have been decimated by mass arrests, called for a general strike and urged the public not to participate in what it called a "sham" election. Some 25,000 opposition cadres including the BNP's entire local leadership were arrested in the ensuing crackdown, the party says. The government puts the figure at 11,000.
07 Jan 2024, 3:48 PM (IST)
There are reports of obstruction to the voting process across Bangladesh:
1. In Barguna-1 constituency, about 262 km south of Dhaka, a mobile court sentenced a man to six months in jail for casting fake votes, Dhaka Tribune reported.
2. In Meherpur-1 constituency, over 250 km west of Dhaka, three Awami League supporters were jailed for obstructing voters. Dhaka Tribune referred to them as 'boat' supporters, in reference to the election symbol of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party.
3. In Mymensingh, over 100 km north of Dhaka, polling officer and two others were reportedly arrested for allegedly stuffing ballots with fake votes, Dhaka Tribune reported.
07 Jan 2024, 2:38 PM (IST)
Bangladesh's Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed said that the troops will stay on the field as long as the Election Commission wants.
Asked by reporters how many days the army will be on election duty and how they will deal with post-polls violence, the army chief said: "As you know, we have been directed to stay on the field until January 10. If there is violence after the election, the Army will perform their duties with complete professionalism and neutrality, God willing."
07 Jan 2024, 2:02 PM (IST)
Bangladesh PM Hasina has urged the public to cast their ballots.
"The BNP is a terrorist organisation," Hasina told reporters after casting her vote at the Dhaka City College alongside her sister and daughter.
"I am trying my best to ensure that democracy should continue in this country," she added.
07 Jan 2024, 12:47 PM (IST)
Bangladesh police said they fired shotguns to break up opposition protests. The situation is currently under control, news agency AFP reported.
Mokhlesur Rahman, a police deputy commissioner in the port city of Chittagong, said officers had "fired shotguns" to disperse up to 60 opposition members who had blocked a road using burning tyres. "No one is injured," Rahman told AFP. "The situation is now under control."
07 Jan 2024, 12:43 PM (IST)
Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan expressed confidence in Sheikh Hasina's leadership and said that the type of 'brotherly relation' will continue with New Delhi upon Hasina's potential return to power.
"I am confident (of winning) because we did many things. The people love Sheikh Hasina."
He also said: "...We have received support from the inception of Bangladesh...I know what cooperation we received from India. So, we believe that this type of brotherly relation will continue."
07 Jan 2024, 11:35 AM (IST)
A local Awami League leader in Bangladesh's Munshiganj, about 50 km from Dhaka, was found dead with stab wounds to the back of his head near a polling centre.
Locals found the body of Zillur Rahman, 45 around 100 feet from the Rikabibazar Government Primary School polling centre in Munshiganj's Mirkadim municipality around 9:30am, an hour and a half after voting began in the 12th parliamentary election.
He was a supporter of the AL-nominated candidate from Munshiganj-3 Mrinal Kanti Das and vice-president of Mirkadim municipality unit of Sramik League.
07 Jan 2024, 11:28 AM (IST)
The Awami League politician Anowara Islam Rani, a transgender individual from Bangladesh's northern region, has etched her name in history by becoming the first candidate of their gender to enter electoral politics. This significant stride towards inclusivity is unfolding in the Rangpur-3 constituency of the country's northern region, in a significant moment of change amid accusations of polls being disputed — a claim denounced by PM Sheikh Hasina's cabinet colleagues in their exclusive interviews with WION.
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07 Jan 2024, 10:30 AM (IST)
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that her 'boat' — the Awami League's election symbol — is set to sail for another term.
"We will win the election, no doubt about it," she told reporters after casting her ballot.
She also urged all to go to the polling centres to ensure that the election environment is fair.
07 Jan 2024, 10:25 AM (IST)
Bangladesh's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal, after casting his vote at Habibullah Bahar University College Center (number 89) in Dhaka, asked journalists to highlight the transparency of the voting process.
"It feels good that the national election is held every five years. Hope it will end smoothly," Awal was quoted as saying by the local media.
The CEC also requested the journalists to highlight the visibility and transparency of voting.
Asked whether he was worried about low voter turnout amid pre-poll violence, he said, "I am not worried about it. My job is to organise the polls.”
07 Jan 2024, 8:36 (IST)
Bangladesh's Information & Broadcasting Minister Muhammad Hasan Mahmud expressed concerns about pre-election violence but noted the prevailing positive mood. Speaking to WION's diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal exclusively, he highlighted, "BNP and Jamaat e-Islami have been trying, and doing violence and they are carrying out arson attacks on the people, on vehicles and trains," and mentioned the major incident of violence involving the torching of the Benapole Express ahead of the general elections on Sunday.
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07 Jan 2024, 7:43 (IST)
Bangladesh foreign minister A K Abdul Momen has assured that the Bangladesh general elections scheduled to be held on Sunday (Jan 7) will be "free, fair, transparent and credible" and that the government has increased the security to prevent any violence. Speaking to WION's diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Dhaka, Momen expressed his disappointment over the arson attack on Benpole Express saying, "This is indeed deplorable, such a heinous crime and we will find the culprit and definitely will punish them."
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07 Jan 2024, 8:40 (IST)
Bangladesh is conducting its 12th general election since the country first came into being in 1971 following a devastating battle for liberation from present-day Pakistan.
Here is everything you need to know:
1. The principal opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is boycotting the poll as they had in 2014 and 2018. BNP demanded the formation of a caretaker government to take over — just like the one formed in Pakistan in August 2023 before its national elections in February 2024.
2. Violence erupted on the eve of the election after a passenger train was set on fire in which at least four people were killed. Several polling booths were set ablaze around the country.
3. Women are nearly half of all nearly 120 million eligible voters, among whom Sheikh Hasina continues to be popular due to PM Hasina's focus to ensure their participation in the workforce during last 14 years.
4. First-time voters number about 15 million, according to news agency Reuters.
5. Nearly 2,000 candidates are contesting for the 300 directly elected parliament seats, with a record high 5.1 per cent of women candidates in the fray. There are 436 independent candidates in the race, the most since 2001. The BNP claimed that the Awami League has propped up "dummy" candidates to give a credible outlook to the elections.
