India backs Bangladesh elections, slams violence

Dhaka – As expected, the ruling party Awami League walked away with an easy win in an election boycotted by an 18-party opposition alliance led by Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

The outcome of the elections which were bound to be swept by the ruling party, is no solution to the crisis brewing in the country since last few weeks and Bangladesh seems poised to enter a phase of political uncertainty.

The election which the local media reports dubbed as “the bloodiest” in country’s history, was denounced as a farce by the opposition.

Calling the Jan 5 elections as a “constitutional requirement”, India said that it was for people of Bangladesh to decide their future adding that violence should not be a factor.

Syed Akbaruddin, Ministry of External Affairs India tweeted the government’s statement that said, “They (elections) are a part of the internal and constitutional process of Bangladesh. Violence cannot and should not determine the way forward. The democratic processes must be allowed to take their own course in Bangladesh.”