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Bangladesh's ruling party wins general elections: Local media say

Sunday, 30 December 2018 6:51 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 30 December 2018 7:18 PM ]

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, right, flashes the victory sign after casting her ballot as her daughter Saima Wazed Hossain, left, and her sister Sheikh Rehana look on at a polling station in Dhaka on December 30, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

Early results show Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League (AL) party won the controversial general elections, which were marred by opposition claims of vote rigging and violence between rival supporters.

According to Channel 24, which is compiling results from around the country, Hasina’s alliance easily crossed the 151 seats required to form a government.

Early trends showed Hasina's ruling party has taken a big lead over the opposition in the Sunday elections. As midnight approached, the AL and its allies had won 191 seats while the opposition coalition had only five, the channel said.

The alliance running against Hasina, led by the main opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP) however accused the ruling party of using stuffed ballot boxes and other illegal means to fix the result. BNP spokesman Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal told reporters there were "irregularities" in 221 of the 300 seats contested.

Bangladeshi election officials count ballots at a polling station after voting ended in Dhaka on December 30, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

"Voters are not allowed to enter booths. Especially women voters are being forced to vote for the boat," Alal said, referring to the AL symbol.

The BNP-led opposition alliance also branded the vote "farcical" and urged the country's election commission to void the results.

"We are demanding that a fresh election is held under a neutral government as early as possible," said Kamal Hossain, who heads the coalition.

Kamal Hossain, the Bangladeshi lawyer and leader of the National Unity Front Alliance, right, speaks to the media in Dhaka on December 30, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

Hasina did not immediately respond to the accusations but said in the run-up to the vote that it would be free and fair.

In addition, deadly violence and bitter rivalry that marred the election campaign spilled over into voting day. Over a dozen people were killed in clashes between Awami League and BNP supporters while three men were shot by police who said they were protecting polling booths. An auxiliary police member was also killed by armed opposition activists.

Hasina has been lauded for boosting economic growth in the poor nation during an unbroken decade in power. But critics accuse her of authoritarianism and crippling the opposition, including arch-rival Khaleda Zia, who is serving 17 years in prison on graft charges, so that she could cling on to power.