Bangladesh PM to Extend Her Rule in Polls Shunned by Rivals
- Polling stations closed 4 p.m. with turnout at just 40%
- Sheikh Hasina on course for fourth straight term in power
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Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is on course to extend her rule and retain her title as the world’s longest serving female head of government after polling closed in an election boycotted by her rivals and voters.
Hasina’s Awami League Party is expected to take the lead when early results trickle in and the Election Commission has put the turnout at about 40%. It’s a sharp drop from the 80% participation in polls in 2018, as voters heeded a campaign by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party to shun the election and draw attention to the sweeping crackdown her government carried out in the run up to the polls.