DHAKA: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sworn in for a 5th term on Thursday after a landslide victory in an election boycotted by the opposition.
Hasina’s ruling Awami League party won nearly three-quarters of elected seats in parliament, with allied parties and friendly independent candidates making up about all the remainder.
The election was criticised by the US and the United Nations (UN) following a crackdown late last year that saw thousands of opposition party members arrested.
Hasina said in an oath-taking ceremony at the presidential palace, that she would faithfully discharge the duties of Prime Minister according to the law.
Sheikh Hasina’s Cabinet
Around fifteen ministers from the previous cabinet were dropped, but most senior ministers retained their slots, names circulated by the cabinet office revealed.
Career diplomat A.K. Abdul Momen was dropped as foreign minister after serving since 2019.
Finance minister A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal, who has been ill for much of the past 5 years, was also moved on, with another former foreign minister to replace him.
Hasina has presided over breakneck economic development in Bangladesh — once beset by grinding poverty — but her government has been accused of rampant human rights violations and a ruthless crackdown on dissent.
Dozens of opposition parties boycotted Sunday’s vote, which they described as a “sham” designed to entrench Hasina in power.
Turnout in the election was a meager 41.8%, just over half the figure in the previous polls in 2018.
