The Bangladesh Awami League led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 76, has won the country’s general elections, securing 223 of 300 electoral seats in the country’s parliament, the Jatiya Sangsad.
The results were predictable, and indeed, had been widely predicted. “When Bangladesh goes to the polls on January 7,” Oslo-based Bangladeshi academic and author Mubashar Hasan wrote in a piece for 360info.org published three days before the polls, “the great performance of democracy will take centre stage. Voting booths will be set up, voters will cast votes, and they will be counted. However, despite the show, there is no surprise twist lurking for election watchers, because the result is already known. Sheikh Hasina will be re-elected for a fifth time, and her party, the Bangladesh Awami League (AL), will form government once again.”
