The US on Monday expressed disappointment in Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Bangladesh as it turned into a walkover for the ruling party amid an opposition boycott.
“With more than half of the seats uncontested and most of the remainder offering only token opposition, the results of the just-concluded elections do not appear to credibly express the will of the Bangladeshi people,” said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf in a statement released to the press.
The Awami League, which has governed the South Asian nation since 2008, secured more than three-quarters of all seats. The opposition boycotted the election, and has called for the vote to be annulled due to low turnout.
In the days and weeks leading up to the vote, Bangladesh saw scores killed in political violence. On Sunday, at least 16 were killed as opposition supporters clashed with police.
Over 100 polling stations were torched nationwide.
Harf condemned violence “from all quarters” while adding that Bengali authorities and the opposition leadership “must do everything in their power to ensure law and order and refrain from supporting and fomenting violence, especially against minority communities, inflammatory rhetoric, and intimidation.”
She called for dialogue between the parties "to find a way to hold as soon as possible elections that are free, fair, peaceful, and credible, reflecting the will of the Bangladeshi people."
High poverty and low development continue to wrack Bangladesh, where one fourth of the 150 million population lives below its poverty line of two US dollars a day.
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