Bangladesh's newly elected lawmakers sworn in amid mixed reaction to polls

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – The newly elected lawmakers in Bangladesh were sworn in on Wednesday in the parliament amid mixed global reaction and the opposition’s rejection of the general elections held over the weekend.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administered the oath. The new Cabinet will take oath on Thursday.

Earlier, the Bangladesh Election Commission published the results of Sunday’s election in a gazette.

Of the total 300 seats, the ruling Awami League party won 222 seats, its ally Jatiya Party 11, and independent candidates won 62 seats while the commission kept elections on two seats on hold.

The winning ruling party received immediate welcoming statements from the countries, including India, China, Russia, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states, and others.

On the contrary, the US, UK, EU, Canada, and the UN, among others, expressed dissatisfaction, calling Sunday's election not “fair and participatory.” They also expressed concern over the arbitrary arrest of the opposition parties.

The government, however, claimed the election was free, fair, and participatory.

The opposition parties led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the election and demanded fresh elections under a neutral caretaker government.

Since political unrest erupted in late October, at least 27 supporters of the opposition have been killed, as well as a journalist and a policeman. More than 27,200 BNP supporters have so far been arrested and over 1,290 others have been handed jail terms with over 100,400 sued in police cases, according to BNP figures.