Cricketer Mashrafe Mortaza records landslide win in Bangladesh elections

DHAKA: Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, who was contesting in Bangladesh’s eleventh parliamentary elections, has registered a landslide victory from his Narail 2 constituency.

The Awami League candidate got 274,418 votes in the election as compared to his competitor Jatiya Oikya Front candidate AZM Fariduzzaman who received 8,006 votes. Mortaza, who was making his debut in the general elections, receives around around 96 per cent of the total votes cast in the constituency, Dhaka Tribune reported.

With the victory, the bowling all-rounder has become the second national cricket team captain, after Naimur Rahman Durjoy, to be a Member of Parliament.

Moreover, Mortaza is the first active cricketer to get the position.

The polling began early morning on Sunday around 8 am and continued till 4 pm in the evening. The capital city of Dhaka, however, witnessed peaceful voting, while several parts of the nation were engulfed in raging violence during voting. Police have arrested as many as eight people in connection with the clashes.

The official declaration with regards to election results is yet to be made. The local media, however, have reported that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led Bangladesh Awami League is likely to make the government in the country for the third consecutive term.