Bangladesh election: PM Sheikh Hasina wins fourth term in controversial vote

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has secured her fourth straight term in a controversial election.

Ms Hasina will serve another five years in office after her party the Awami League and its allies won 152 of the 300 parliamentary seats contested.

The polls were boycotted by the main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, who have alleged the election is a "sham".

Sunday's result comes after mass arrests of BNP leaders and supporters.

Independents won 45 seats and the Jatiya Party won eight seats.

It is the fifth term in total for Ms Hasina, who first became prime minister in 1996 and was re-elected in 2009, remaining in power since.

Human Rights Watch estimates that nearly 10,000 activists were arrested after an opposition rally on 28 October turned violent, resulting in the deaths of at least 16 people and injuring more than 5,500.

"The government is claiming to commit to free and fair elections with diplomatic partners while state authorities are simultaneously filling prisons with the ruling Awami League's political opponents," HRW senior Asia researcher Julia Bleckner said in a statement in November.

The Awami League has denied these accusations, with Law Minister Anisul Huq saying: "Some of the cases go back to violent incidents that took place during the 2001 and 2014 elections."

Fears have been raised that this new victory for the Awami League could lead to de-facto one party rule.

Very few expect the government to relax its crackdown. More so, if opposition parties and civil society groups continue to raise questions over the legitimacy of the government.

The BNP boycotted the election after the Awami League rejected their demands for an independent caretaker government to preside over the polls.

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