Former premier Hasina wins Bangladesh polls

Dhaka Former Bangladeshi prime minister Shaikh Hasina Wajed has won a landslide victory in general elections with her Awami League-led Grand Alliance picking up more than two-third of the seats.

Election commission official said that votes in 295 of the 300 seats had been counted, and the Grand Alliance had won 258 while Hasina's archrival ex-premier Khalida Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led grouping won 31 seats.

Election official Humayun Kabir said in televised comments on Tuesday that Hasina's alliance has won a two-thirds majority in the 300-seat Parliament. The election was held on Monday.

Kabir did not give any figures, but television reports say unofficial tallies give the coalition led by Hasina's Bangladesh Awami League 255 seats, far ahead of the 32 seats netted by her archrival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

The two women have traded power before. Zia was elected prime minister in 1991, Hasina in 1996, and Zia again in 2001.

The reports say that independents and small parties have won five seats, and that Hasina's alliance is leading in most of the remaining seats.

Zia's party late on Monday alleged there were irregularities and forgery in the voting processes but would not comment on the initial results.

Security was tight and voting was the most peaceful in decades — a stark contrast to the failed elections of 2007, which dissolved into street riots and prompted a military-backed interim government to take over.

Voter turnout was high, with about 70 percent of the 81 million eligible voters casting ballots, said election official Humayun Kabir.

What is the reason for the lack of a strong opposition party in Bangladeshi politics? Are there any political leaders who can pose a serious challenge to Hasina? How do you see the future of Bangladesh with Hasina at the helm once again?