Campaign flyers, predominantly featuring candidates from the ruling party, adorn utility poles throughout Bangladesh as the opposition's boycott positions Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for a fourth consecutive term. Despite concerns from rights groups about the country's drift towards virtual one-party rule due to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) boycott, Western nations, key customers of its garment industry, advocate for free elections.
Dhaka's walls showcase slogans urging voters to support "Once again, Sheikh Hasina" and to "Vote for the boat," the symbol of her Awami League party. While campaigning concludes on Friday, the anticipated ballot outcome has left some voters indifferent, believing that their participation holds little significance.
Acknowledging her family's staunch support for the Awami League, school teacher Shayed Uz Zaman expressed a lack of enthusiasm for voting, emphasizing the perceived certainty of Hasina staying in power. Another Awami League supporter, Minoti Rosario, who runs a grocery shop, echoed this sentiment, feeling that her vote holds little sway given the expected victory of the ruling party.
Sunday, typically a working day in Bangladesh, marks the 12th general election since the country gained independence in 1971. With around 120 million registered voters selecting 300 members of parliament, the election is one of the largest exercises globally this year. Women constitute nearly half of the voters, with 15 million casting their first-time ballots.
The absence of the BNP, which declined to participate due to Hasina's refusal to agree to a caretaker government overseeing the polls, has prompted a significant security deployment across Bangladesh. Troops, along with nearly 750,000 police officers and paramilitary forces, are deployed to safeguard the polls. The heightened risk of political violence persists, despite expectations of low voter turnout, according to the International Crisis Group.
Pierre Prakash, the Asia director of the International Crisis Group, emphasized that the election does not address Bangladesh's ongoing political crisis, pointing out the absence of a credible national election since 2008. While Hasina is credited with economic improvements and advancements in the garment industry during her 15-year tenure, critics accuse her of authoritarianism, human rights violations, and stifling dissent.
Her main rival, BNP leader Khaleda Zia, is effectively under house arrest on graft charges deemed by the opposition as politically motivated. Khaleda's son, Tarique Rahman, who is acting chairperson of the party, resides in exile, facing charges that he denies. The economic slowdown, exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war's impact on fuel and food prices, led Bangladesh to seek a $4.7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund last year.
