Bangladesh Holds General Election Amid Opposition Boycott... Explosion Near Polling Station Also Reported

Counting Begins After Afternoon Voting Ends

On the 7th (local time), a general election was held at more than 42,000 polling stations nationwide in Bangladesh.

The Election Commission began counting votes immediately after the polls closed at 4 p.m. The results are expected to be announced on the morning of the 8th.

In this general election, 299 members of the National Assembly with a five-year term are being elected. Although the total number of seats is 300, the election in one constituency was postponed.

The Election Commission started the vote counting immediately after the polls closed at 4 p.m. The results are expected to be announced on the morning of the 8th.

This general election was held amid a boycott by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and some minor parties. The opposition has been protesting since 2022, demanding the resignation of the Sheikh Hasina cabinet and the formation of a neutral government on the grounds of fair elections. When these demands were rejected, they declared a boycott of the general election.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, after holding large-scale anti-government protests at the end of October last year, during which one police officer died and hundreds were injured, the authorities labeled them as a 'terrorist group' and launched a massive crackdown. At least 11,000 opposition leaders and party members were arrested and imprisoned.

The final voter turnout figure has not been released, but the Election Commission reported that as of 3 p.m., one hour before the polls closed, the turnout was 27.15%.

The authorities deployed 800,000 military and police personnel nationwide, focusing on polling stations, but incidents such as clashes between supporters of candidates occurred repeatedly. According to local media, around 11:30 a.m. that day, two homemade bombs exploded near a polling station in the capital Dhaka, injuring four people, including one child.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.