Rival party supporters yesterday fought battles that left at least 14 dead, as Bangladesh held a parliamentary election expected to give the country’s longest-serving leader, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a new term despite opposition claims of rigged voting.
Deadly violence and bitter rivalry that marred the election campaign spilled over into voting day, even as authorities imposed tight security with 600,000 troops, police and other security forces deployed across the country.
Ten people were killed in clashes between supporters of Hasina’s Awami League and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), police said.
Photo: Reuters
Three men were shot by police who said they were protecting polling booths, while an auxiliary police member was killed by armed opposition activists, officials said.
Polls predicted Hasina would clinch a third-consecutive term and record fourth overall.
Hasina, 71, has been lauded for boosting economic growth in the poor South Asian nation during her decade in power and for welcoming Rohingya refugees fleeing neighboring Myanmar.
However, critics accuse her of authoritarianism and crippling the opposition — including archrival Khaleda Zia, who is serving 17 years in prison on graft charges — to cling on to power.
The BNP-led opposition alliance yesterday accused Hasina’s party of using stuffed ballot boxes and other illegal means to fix the result, which is to be announced today.
BNP spokesman Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal told reporters there were “irregularities” in 221 of the 300 seats contested.
“Voters are not allowed to enter booths. Especially women voters are being forced to vote for the boat,” Alal said, referring to the Awami League symbol.
Bangladeshi Election Commission spokesman S.M. Asaduzzaman said that the body had “received a few allegations of irregularities” and was investigating.
Authorities ordered mobile operators to shut down high-speed Internet services until midnight yesterday “to prevent the spread of rumors” that could trigger unrest.
One independent television news channel complained that its broadcasts were blocked.
Voting in the capital, Dhaka, was largely peaceful as convoys of soldiers and paramilitary forces were on the streets, where most traffic was banned.
“I have never missed voting in my life. This is probably the last election for me and I want a suitable candidate for my country,” 98-year-old Abdus Salam said at a Dhaka polling station.
However, voters in provincial areas reported intimidation.
Atiar Rahman said he was beaten by ruling party activists in the central district of Narayanganj.
“They told me not to bother: ‘We’ll cast your vote on your behalf,’” he said.
The opposition said the unrest was stirred up to deter voters, and presiding officers reported a low turnout across the country.
Yesterday’s deaths brought to 18 the official police toll for election violence since the ballot was announced on Nov. 8.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2