World Media Reaction: ‘Predictable’ polls ‘guarantee’ AL victory
The election "without opposition" in Bangladesh has seen a low voter turnout but guarantees a fifth term for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, reported several international media today.
Covering the 12th parliamentary election in Bangladesh -- the first in South Asia this year -- several prominent news outlets and agencies said Hasina, the longest-serving prime minister of the country, also the longest-serving female head of government in the world, is set to win her fourth consecutive term in office.
AFP in an article titled "Bangladesh votes in election without opposition" said the polls boycott led by BNP -- which Hasina branded a 'terrorist organisation' -- and some other opposition parties guaranteed a victory for the ruling Awami League.
According to the article, Hasina has presided over breakneck economic growth in a country once beset by grinding poverty, but her government has been accused of rampant human rights abuses and a ruthless opposition crackdown.
Reuters on the other hand, in a jibe at the voter turnout, in an article said Bangladeshis largely stayed away from the polls.
The election is "set to give Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a fourth straight term, after a vote boycotted by the main opposition party and marred by violence," reads the article.
The Guardian reported that Hasina's party faces almost no effective rivals in the seats it is contesting but has avoided fielding candidates in a few seats, in an apparent effort to avoid the legislature being labelled a one-party institution.
CNN, echoing other media, wrote that the election is all but certain to bring Hasina back to power again.
The news network based in the US said overseas watchdogs have expressed concerns the country was heading towards a one-party system.
"Bangladesh begins elections with predictable outcome," Deutsche Welle, based in Germany, titled their report on today's polls.
"Elections are underway, and many Bangladeshis already know what the result will be. The ruling Awami League faces almost no effective rivals in most seats," Beenish Javed wrote in the DW article.
Indian media outlet the Hindustan Times ran a story titled "Bangladesh election today: With no opposition, Sheikh Hasina set to win again."
Ahead of the election day, Qatar-based Al Jazeera in an article -- 'Vote doesn't count': Bangladesh's 'bizarre' election tests ties with West -- said for the ruling AL what remains a challenge is voter turnout.
"In fact, this is our only concern now," Bahauddin Nasim, joint secretary general of the party, told the news outlet.
In the article, Dhaka-based political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman said the AL's main aim in this election is to show the world that even without the main political opposition in Bangladesh's essentially "two-party politics," the turnout could be high.
"This would help them to establish the narrative that Bangladesh's democracy has evolved into a multi-party democracy where the BNP is no longer relevant while Awami League very much is," Rahman said.
"But I am not sure who is buying that," Rahman added.
Rahman said he worries more about the aftermath of the polls than the outcome, fearing some sort of Western response is on the cards.
However, Sreeradha Datta, professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs in Sonepat, India, told Al Jazeera that she doesn't expect any "dramatic reactions" from the US or other Western countries to an AL victory.
India, Bangladesh's neighbour and South Asia's biggest power, will almost certainly go to "congratulate Hasina and the Awami League" and their bilateral relationship will be back to "business as usual," Datta said.
"The USA will point out the anomalies in the process but when all other important neighbours like China, India and Russia accept the election verdict there is very little that the USA can do apart from sanctions which they have already threatened," she said.
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