Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has secured a fifth term in office after her Awami League Party won an absolute majority in elections fraught with violence and a boycott by the main opposition party and its allies.
The South Asian nation held day-long elections on Sunday for 299 seats to elect a prime minister.
Ms Hasina’s party won 223, Rafiqullah Romel, of the Awami League election monitoring committee, told The National.
The Jatiya Party, an alliance of Awami League, won 11 seats, while independent candidates landed 62. Three alliance partners together won three seats, Mr Romel said.
About 120 million voters were choosing from nearly 2,000 candidates for 300 directly elected parliamentary seats. There were 436 independent candidates, the highest number since 2001.
The election commission has not yet declared the official winning total.
Ms Hasina’s victory means the 76-year-old politician, who has been in power for the past 15 years, will become the world’s longest-serving female head of government.
The daughter of the founding father of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ms Hasina became Prime Minister in 1996.
The Awami League rose to power with a landslide election triumph in 2009 and won its second term in 2014. It was re-elected for the third term in 2018.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, boycotted the elections and asked people not to vote after Ms Hasina refused the BNP’s demands to resign and allow a neutral authority to run the election. Several of its allies called the polls “sham elections” and refused to participate.
Ms Hasina accused the opposition of instigating anti-government protests that have rocked the capital Dhaka since late October, and in which at least 14 people have been killed.
"I am trying my best to ensure that democracy should continue in this country,” she said after casting her vote.
The polls were marred by lower voting turnout – 40 per cent was recorded, the chief election commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal announced, compared with 80 per cent in 2018.
Voting was cancelled at three centres due to irregularities.
More than 800,000 security forces were sent to guard polling booths and troops were mobilised nationwide to assist in maintaining peace.
Ms Hasina has instructed her party leaders not to hold any victory procession.
“The results will be declared by this evening,” Mr Romel said.
"We have mixed feelings because there was low turnout because of the boycott from the main opposition party but other than that, there was a fierce fight. Several ministers also left the party and new candidates have won with huge margins.
“The election was to continue with the constitutional process and the party is coming to power for the fourth consecutive time, it is a positive and good feeling.”
The country, home to 174 million people, has become one of the fastest-growing economies and Ms Hasina has been largely credited for turning the economy around.
Bangladesh has worked on reducing poverty and investing in human capital to establish macroeconomic stability.
It reduced extreme poverty in rural areas from 37.9 per cent in 2000 to 21.1 per cent in 2010 and has set the goals of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2031 and a developed country by 2041.
The country has also sheltered large numbers of Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution from neighbouring Myanmar.
But critics accuse Ms Hasina of authoritarianism, human rights breaches, crackdowns on free speech and suppression of dissent.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Teaching in coronavirus times
Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
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Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.3-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E299hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E420Nm%20at%202%2C750rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12.4L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh157%2C395%20(XLS)%3B%20Dh199%2C395%20(Limited)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
WHAT%20MACRO%20FACTORS%20ARE%20IMPACTING%20META%20TECH%20MARKETS%3F
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
South Africa 66 (Tries: De Allende, Nkosi, Reinach (3), Gelant, Steyn, Brits, Willemse; Cons: Jantjies 8)
Canada 7 (Tries: Heaton; Cons: Nelson)
