Awami League set to form govt in Bangladesh

Bangladesh's Awami League is set to form the next government, bagging a three-fourths majority in the controversial polls, marred by deadly clashes, a low turnout and a boycott by opposition parties.

Premier Sheikh Hasina's Awami League emerged as the strongest party, bagging 232 seats in the 300-seat Parliament, according to the Election Commission, which compiled the result sheets last night.

The party's key-ally Jatiya Party won 33 seats, giving birth to speculations that it might appear as the main opposition in Parliament amid reports of internal dispute in the party whether it should join the new government or prefer the opposition bench.

Twelve seats were bagged by three other ruling alliance partners - Workers Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and Jatiya Party (Manju), 13 by independent candidates and three by other minor parties.

The EC is also set to declare elected unopposed candidates in 153 constituencies out of 300 where nominees of the Awami League and its allies appeared as lone candidates in the absence of rivals from the BNP-led 18 party alliance.

The commission is yet to announce the percentage of the voters turnout, that appeared poor due to widespread violence claiming 21 lives as the opposition called for resisting the "farcical elections".

The EC officials said they were expecting to issue the official gazette notification in the next few days to officially announce the results and the turnout figures, though a senior commission official last night said they calculated the turnout to be nearly 40 per cent.

But the independent Election Working Group (EWG) earlier said turnout in the 10th parliamentary elections was low as it was marked by violence and according to their "limited scale preliminary observation - the turnout was 30.1 per cent".

"We did not see the need to observe polls thoroughfare since the voting was not conducted in usual manner. 153 constituencies remained uncontested," EWG steering committee member Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah said at a press conference late yesterday.

He said: "The election was marked with violence but an election like this is better than no election.