The United States has claimed that the recently concluded 12th parliamentary election in Bangladesh wasn't fair, a day after Awami League stormed back to power for the fifth time in the nation's history.
“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,” a US State Department press release has said, noting the boycott of the federal vote by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its pro-Islamist allies.
The State Department said that it was “concerned” by the arrests of thousands of opposition members and by “reports of irregularities” on the election day.
The US statement also condemned violence that took place in the days leading-up to the election, which include the arson attacks on trains which the Bangladeshi authorities have described as acts of “terrorism”.
Reportedly, the election observers from the US, which were part of a team of foreign observers invited by the Bangladesh government, described the election as free and fair.
However, the US, UK and Canada later reportedly claimed that these election observers were acting independently and weren’t affiliated with the government.
US Challenges Fairness of Bangladesh Elections, Contrasting India, Russia and China's Approval
The US reaction to the Bangladesh election is at variance with that of its closest strategic partner in the region, India’s, whose Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to five-term Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to congratulate her on the “historic” election win.
“I also congratulate the people of Bangladesh for the successful conduct of elections. We are committed to further strengthen our enduring and people-centric partnership with Bangladesh,” Prime Minister Modi posted on social media.
On Monday, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma called on PM Hasina to congratulate her on the landslide victory.
Awami League said in a statement that Verma expressed confidence that Hasina’s win would pave the way for “even stronger momentum in support of each other’s national development”.
Awami League said that Chinese Ambassador to Dhaka, Yao Wen, also met Hasina at her residence to laud her for the election win.
“The Chinese ambassador called on the PM and reaffirmed that Chinese leaders are committed to working with her to carry forward the long-established friendship, enhance mutual trust, and deepen practical cooperation – thereby uplift the China-Bangladesh Strategic Partnership of Cooperation to a new height,” the ruling party stated.
Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Mantytsky was also among the first foreign envoys to greet Hasina for the election win, according to Awami League.
The Russian envoy also expressed hope for “further cooperation between Russia and Bangladesh, as well as outlined promising areas of bilateral partnership,” a statement from the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh said.