- Title: BANGLADESH: POLITICS - Abdus Sattar wins presidential election
- Date: 16th November 1981
- Summary: DACCA, BANGLADESH (VISNEWS - PREM PRAKASH) GV Awami League supporters march in street (3 shots) GV BNP supporters in the street (2 shots)
- Embargoed: 1st December 1981 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Bangladesh, Bangladesh
- City:
- Country: Bangladesh
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA64G3UT1HD0HSUD2JI9RQ2Y22S
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: INTRODUCTION: The acting president of Bangladesh, Abdus Sattar, has won the country's presidential elections.He scored a landslide win over his opponent, Dr.Kamal Hossein.
SYNOPSIS: These were the losers, the Awami League, at a rally before the election.They controlled Bangladesh during its birth, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman led a bloody rebellion against Pakistan in 1971.Their present leader is Dr.Kamal Hossein.
Their opponents, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.BNP leader Abdus Sattar was successor to General Ziaur Rahman, who won office after a power struggle following the 1975 assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.But six years later General Zia too was assassinated.
His successor has spent the last six months guiding the country to elections, and coping with violent tensions that continued in the wake of the earlier bloodshed.When the vote came, the 75-year-old leader won with a massive vote in his favour.
The final tally gave victory to Mr.Sattar by a margin of three votes to one.Press reports in Dacca quoted Western observers as expressing surprise that the margin was so great.After this win Mr.Sattar vowed to continue the policies established by General Zia.
The opposition Awami League, however, complained that the vote was a fraud, and accused the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of widespread ballot rigging.Dr Hossein declared on Sunday (15 November) that what had occurred was not an election, but a conspiracy against the people, underlined by violence.
But Mr.Sattar denied the allegation of ballot-rigging.His was a "victory for the cause of democracy", and the winning margin was so great, there was no need to cheat.
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