Little election fizz in Bangladesh as prime minister set for another term

Students join in a rally as they celebrate the formation day of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of Bangladesh Awami League, at the University of Dhaka, ahead of the general election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

DHAKA (Reuters) - Utility poles across Bangladesh are festooned with campaign flyers carrying pictures of general election candidates, most of them from the ruling party, as an opposition boycott looks set to usher Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to a fourth straight term.

Rights groups warn the country of 170 million is heading for virtual one-party rule, after the boycott by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), though Western nations, key clients of its garments industry, have urged free elections.