Dhaka verdict: Let’s temper the euphoria

It is understandable that the outcome of the Feb 12 election in Bangladesh has been greeted with a sigh of relief in India. However, viewed from the perspective of democratic rectitude, the electoral exercise left much to be desired. Reports indicate that the turnout of over 60%, as stated by the country’s Election Commission, was highly inflated. The reasons behind the lukewarm turnout of actual voters—as opposed to the ballots that were counted—will remain a subject of debate, but in any otherwise normal democracy the legitimacy of the election that saw the Bangladesh Nationalist Party secure an emphatic mandate would have been questioned.
There are reasons why these irregularities have been conveniently glossed over by both the Bangladesh establishment and the international community.