Bangladesh PM says vote ‘victory of people’; opposition to continue protest

Hasina wins record fifth term as PM in election boycotted by opposition which vows more agitations ‘to save democracy’.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says her fifth term in power is a “victory of the people”, dismissing the opposition’s allegation that the vote was a “sham”.

“I have been fighting throughout my life to ensure people’s democratic rights,” the 76-year-old leader said while addressing a news conference at her residence in capital Dhaka on Monday.

Without naming the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which boycotted Sunday’s polls, Hasina said, “They didn’t come to the election as they feared people’s judgement”, adding that the absence of one party did not mean “democracy is absent” in Bangladesh.

The 12th parliamentary elections in the South Asian country saw an official voter turnout of about 40 percent, its third lowest ever. The BNP and some independent observers, however, questioned the veracity of that figure.