Hasina Wins Bangladesh Vote amid Low Turnout

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina - dpa
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina - dpa
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Hasina Wins Bangladesh Vote amid Low Turnout

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina - dpa
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina - dpa

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has won an overwhelming majority in Bangladesh's parliamentary election after a campaign fraught with violence and a boycott from the main opposition party, giving her and her Awami League a fourth consecutive term.

While the Election Commission has been slow to announce the results of Sunday's election, TV stations with journalists across the country reported the Awami League won 224 seats out of 299. Independent candidates took 62, while the Jatiya Party, the third largest in the country, took 11 seats and Kallyan Party got 1. The results for the rest of the constituencies were still coming in.

The election was held in 299 out of 300 parliamentary seats. In one seat, the election was postponed as required by law after an independent candidate died, according to Reuters.

A final official declaration from the Election Commission is expected on Monday.

At least 18 arson attacks preceded the vote but the election day passed in relative calm. Turnout was around 40%, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal said after the polls closed.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former premier Khaleda Zia refused to accept the election outcome, saying Bangladeshi voters have rejected the government's one-sided election.

Security incidents, including four deaths in an arson attack on a passenger train on Friday, intensified tensions ahead of the election that was shunned by Zia's party and its allied groups. They accuse Hasina of turning Bangladesh into a one-party state and muzzling dissent and civil society.

Authorities blamed much of the violence on the BNP, accusing it of seeking to sabotage the election. On Saturday, detectives arrested seven men belonging to the BNP and its youth wing for their alleged involvement in the train attack. The party denied any role in the incident.



Zelenskiy: Ukraine Offering Fast, Constructive Accord with US on Security, Investments

US Special Envoy to Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
US Special Envoy to Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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Zelenskiy: Ukraine Offering Fast, Constructive Accord with US on Security, Investments

US Special Envoy to Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
US Special Envoy to Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Ukraine was ready to work quickly and tirelessly to produce a strong and useful agreement on investments and security with the United States.
Zelenskiy said on media site X that he had a "good discussion" with Keith Kellogg, the US envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
The meeting took place a day after Zelenskiy and US President Donald Trump exchanged barbs as US-Russian talks got underway on ending the three-year-old war
pitting Kyiv against Moscow. Ukraine was not invited to the talks.
"We must and can ensure that peace is strong and lasting—so that Russia can never return with war," Zelenskiy wrote.
"Ukraine is ready for a strong, effective investment and security agreement with the President of the United States. We have proposed the fastest and most constructive way to achieve results. Our team is ready to work 24/7."
According to Reuters, Zelenskiy said his discussion with Kellogg was focused on the battlefield situation, the security guarantees that Ukraine is seeking and the return of prisoners of war.
"It’s important for us—and for the entire free world—that American strength is felt," he wrote.