Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina swept to a fourth straight term in power, with her party winning almost 75% of the seats in Sunday’s general election.

Washington: The U.S. State Department said that the weekend’s elections in Bangladesh were not free and fair and that the Washington was concerned by reports of vote irregularities. It also expressed concerns over the arrests of thousands of political opposition members. “The US remains concerned by the arrests of thousands of political opposition members and by reports of irregularities on election day.  The United States shares the view with other observers that these elections were not free or fair and we regret that not all parties participated. The US condemns the violence that took place during elections and in the months leading up to it. We encourage the Government of Bangladesh to credibly investigate reports of violence and to hold perpetrators accountable. We also urge all political parties to reject violence,” US Department of State said in a statement.

The country further supported Bangladesh people and their aspirations for democracy, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of expression. “The United States notes the Awami League party won a majority of seats in the January 7, 2024 parliamentary elections,” the statement said.

Hasina’s Awami League (AL) party secured a landslide victory with over two-thirds majority, giving the AL-led 14-party alliance another chance to form the government in Bangladesh for the fourth consecutive term. The ruling Awami League party won 222 seats out of 298, according to unofficial results released by the Election Commission.

It is to be noted that despite the militancy and boycott by the opposition BNP and like-minded parties, the Awami League-nominated candidates and its independent candidates secured victory in most of the constituencies in the national parliamentary election.

Hasina has described her party’s win in the country’s parliamentary election as the “people’s victory” and said that Bangladesh has been able to set an example of “holding free, fair and neutral polls”.

“We’ve set an example that elections can be free, fair and neutral. You (observers and journalists) have come and witnessed how the people cast their votes in our country,” she was quoted as saying by IANS, while interacting with foreign journalists and election observers at Ganabhaban, the official residence of the Bangladesh Prime Minister, following the parliamentary election.