Bangladesh's Islamist-led coalition submits poll complaints

Bangladesh's Islamist-led coalition, which lost its chance to form the country's next government in this week's polls, submitted complaints to the Election Commission on Sunday, challenging results in 32 constituencies.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman -- the scion of one of the country's most influential political dynasties -- celebrated a sweeping victory in the South Asian nation of 170 million after general elections on Thursday.

They were the first polls since a 2024 uprising ousted the autocratic government of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The BNP alliance won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, according to the Election Commission.

Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman conceded on Saturday, saying his party would "serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition".

Newly elected lawmakers are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday, after which Rahman is set to become the country's next prime minister.

But on Sunday, Jamaat officials submitted their complaints.

"We have identified 32 constituencies where our candidates were unfairly defeated," said senior Jamaat official Hamidur Rahman Azad.

"The election day began smoothly, but the ending was not what we had expected. Fake votes, the circulation of black money (bribes), threats, assaults, and attacks marred the atmosphere." 

Police records show that political clashes during the campaign period left five people dead and more than 600 injured.

But despite weeks of turbulence ahead of the polls, voting day passed without major unrest and the country has so far responded to the results with relative calm.

At least two people were killed in post‑poll clashes, while scattered acts of vandalism and assaults were reported in several districts, police said. 

Both Jamaat‑e‑Islami and ally the National Citizen Party (NCP) -- formed by student leaders who spearheaded the uprising -- reported attacks on their supporters.

NCP loyalists marched through Dhaka University campus against the BNP on Friday.

Police spokesman AHM Shahadat Hossain said that police were deployed to keep the peace.

"Over 150,000 police personnel were trained to tackle pre- and post-election violence," Hossain told AFP.

The Election Commission said turnout was 59 percent across 299 of the 300 constituencies where voting was held.

Only seven women were directly elected, although a further 50 seats reserved for women will be allocated to parties according to their share of the vote.

Four members of minority communities won seats, including two Hindus -- a population that makes up roughly seven percent in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

© Agence France-Presse