Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was
declared the landslide winner after Sunday’s poll, marking a third term
in office for the leader accused of increasing authoritarianism and
overseeing a crackdown on the opposition.

Hasina
and 290 other MPs — mainly from the ruling Awami League and its allies
— took the oath Thursday, with Hasina elected parliament leader, the
first step to her being named prime minister of the South Asian nation.

But seven opposition MPs boycotted the
ceremony, calling for a re-run of the elections — something Hasina has
ruled out. Parliament spokesman Kamal Hossain said that if the MPs do
not take an oath within 90 days new elections will be held in their
constituencies.

Opposition leaders and candidates from
Sunday’s election, which ended with at least 17 dead in voting-related
unrest, met in Dhaka and were expected to submit an official request to
the election commission for the results to be cancelled.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist
Party and its allies say that there was widespread voter intimidation
and rigging of the results.

The European Union has called on Bangladesh
authorities to probe the obstacles to voting which it said had “tainted”
the election, while the United States has expressed concern about
“credible reports of harassment, intimidation and violence”.

“Reports of ballot stuffing, intimidation of
voters, and ruling party control of voting locations on election day
mean that an independent and impartial commission should be formed,”
said Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, which has also
called for an investigation.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh and other
left-wing parties staged a protest Thursday outside the national press
club in Dhaka demanding the cancellation of the poll, with some 200
people standing in a human chain with black ribbons tied around their
mouths.