Bangladesh 2018 Election Live Results: Where To Find Up-To-Date Voting Totals From Contentious Election
Bangladesh residents took to the polls on Sunday for the country’s 2018 election, and live results for the 11th Parliamentary elections will be available from a number of different outlets.
Voters will decide if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wins her third consecutive term in office, or if the opposition group Jatiya Oikya Front (JOF), led by imprisoned former premier Khaleda Zia and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, can unseat her.
Sunday’s voting was marked with violent clashes and controversy, as the government suspended high-speed mobile internet services in the name of preventing rumors that could lead to unrest, the Indian Express reported. That did little to quell the tensions, with violent skirmishes breaking out between backers of the ruling Awami League and opposition BNP, leaving at least five people dead and ten others injured.
As the Indian Express noted, there has been low voter turnout across Bangladesh, with many voters saying they are afraid of violence and others believing that they can do nothing to stop Hasina’s ruling party from staying in power.
Enthusiasm appeared to be especially low in backers of the opposition group.
“I am here to vote, but my family says, ‘what’s the point?’ The ruling party will come back in power in any case,” one unnamed voter told the news outlet.
There were reports that Awami League workers were preventing opposition supporters from reaching the polls, and BNP leaders had already expressed doubts that the election might be rigged.
Election officials have said they are guarding against any election fraud and ready to prevent violence.
“If we find any negligence or insincerity during poll-time duty, we will take legal action against them after investigation,” said KM Nurul Huda, the chief election commissioner, at a press conference this week (via Al Jazeera).
Tomorrow, Bangladesh will vote in its 11th general elections. Here's what you need to know: https://t.co/lx4BBAxoTH pic.twitter.com/2L2igmF6p2
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) December 29, 2018
But human rights groups have accused the Bangladesh government of cracking down on the opposition groups and the media.
“These attacks are meant to instill fear in the minds of Bangladeshi voters, and thus undermining the prospects of a level electoral playing field,” a coalition of human rights groups said in a statement ahead of the elections on Sunday.
There is more at stake in the Bangladesh 2018 election than just the top race, Al Jazeera noted. The country’s 104 million voters will also decide 299 parliament representatives.
Those who want to follow live results of the Bangladesh 2018 election can find up-to-date voting totals and other developments through BDNews24 or in the embedded video above.
