Bangladesh counts votes after election without opposition
Bangladesh election officials began counting votes Sunday after polls guaranteed to give a fifth term in office to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina closed, following a boycott led by an opposition party she branded a "terrorist organization."
Hasina has presided over exceptional 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.
Her party faces almost no effective rivals in the seats it is contesting but has avoided fielding candidates in a few seats, an apparent effort to avoid the legislature being branded a one-party institution.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, whose ranks have been decimated by mass arrests, is leading a weekend general strike urging the public not to participate in what it calls a "sham" election.
But Hasina, 76, urged the public to cast their ballots and show their faith in the democratic process. Results are expected as early as Monday morning.
(Source: AFP)
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