Sheikh Hasina Wins Fourth Term As Bangladesh PM: Things To Know

In what is being hailed as a "landslide win," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has emerged victorious this morning in the elections being held in Bangladesh. The ruling coalition led by Sheikh Hasina is now ready for a fourth consecutive term.

This is an unmatched accomplishment in the country’s political history.

The coalition has bagged more than 80 per cent of votes. It is also one of the strongest governments in South Asia. Sheikh Hasina's first term as Prime Minister of Bangladesh was from 1996 till 2001. She became the first Bangladeshi Prime Minister to complete the entire term since its independence. Hasina has faced anti-incumbency after being in office since 2009.

Forbes mentioned in Hasina's profile how she provided aid to Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing Myanmar, allotting 2,000 acres of land in Bangladesh for the refugees. Hasina is now working on the safe repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar, saying that Bangladesh can't bear the burden of permanent shelter.

Earlier in April, she was honoured with the prestigious Global Women’s Leadership Award in Sydney.

Hasina has been a major advocate of democracy

Hasina, who is the daughter the first President of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has spent four decades in politics. The PM, who has ruled over Bangladesh for almost a decade now, has lead a tough life since the very beginning. In the 1970 elections, during the peak of violence in Bangladesh, Hasina had to live in refuge with her grandmother as her father was arrested. In 1975, her parents and brothers were assassinated at their home by military officers. Following this, she was not allowed to return to the country until 1981 when she was elected to lead the Awami League Party. She has also been placed under house arrest on numerous occasions.

She has worked endlessly for women and children’s rights

Hasina has been instrumental in giving Bangladeshi women a voice in the country’s politics. In 2014, the UNESCO presented her with the UNESCO Peace Tree award for her commitment to women’s empowerment and girls' education. In 2016, UN-Women awarded her the Planet 50-50 Champion award.

It's said that signing the ‘Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord’ in December 1997 is the most remarkable move in her political career. The treaty was an agreement between the government and the ‘Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti’ (a political organisation armed with a militia), which ended decades of violence and hostility between the government and the tribes of the region.

Despite the results, the Opposition party has called for a fresh vote, referring to it as a “vote dakaati”, a vote rigging at a massive scale.

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