Bangladesh elections spoiled by boycott and violence

Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh on Sunday saw voter turnout of 22% due to the opposition's boycott and deadly violence that left 19 people dead and some polling stations burned in arson attacks.

Many of the elected positions went uncontested to the ruling Awami League because the main opposition body, the Bangladesh National Party, boycotted the general elections. The BNP's decision to boycott followed the government's refusal to instate a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee voting, traditionally set in place to protect from electoral manipulation. The BNP attempted to suppress voter turnout in an effort to prompt the government to nullify the election results and hold fresh elections with BNP conditions set in place.

Preliminary results from the Election Commission showed the ruling Awami League had won 105 seats from 147 districts. The opposition boycotted the election for another 153 seats, 127 of which Awami League claimed.

The U.S. Department of State issued a press statement in response to the parliamentary elections, condemning the violence and calling for "the Government of Bangladesh and opposition parties to engage in immediate dialogue to find a way to hold as soon as possible elections that are free, fair, peaceful, and credible, reflecting the will of the Bangladeshi people."

[New York Times] [Washington Post] [State Department]