Cricket star Mashrafe Mortaza claims landslide victory in Bangladesh election: report

Published December 31, 2018
Bangladesh’s ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza won a landslide victory the Bangladesh's general election, The Dhaka Tribune reported on Monday. — AFP/File photo
Bangladesh’s ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza won a landslide victory the Bangladesh's general election, The Dhaka Tribune reported on Monday. — AFP/File photo

Bangladesh’s ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza is set to become a member of the parliament after claiming a landslide victory in Bangladesh's general election, The Dhaka Tribune reported on Monday.

According to the Bangladeshi publication, Mortaza who was a candidate for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League Party, won from his Narail 2 constituency.

The poll rookie, as per the unofficial count, received 274,418 votes of the total 317,844 votes in his constituency.

The victory makes Mortaza the first active Bangladeshi player to become an MP. He is the second team captain to become an MP after Naimur Rahman Durjoy, The Dhaka Tribune reported.

In November, Mortaza had announced his decision to stand in the election.

Cricketing authorities had said at the time there was no prohibition on active players trying their hand at politics.

“To run in an election is his constitutional right. If he wants to exercise these rights, we have no issue,” Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus had told AFP.

Mortaza is widely expected to retire after the World Cup in 2019.

He has already retired from T20 International cricket and has not played a Test match since 2009.

Cricketers moving into politics is nothing new in South Asia, where star players command god-like devotion from millions of fans. However it is rare for a sitting player to make the change.

Meanwhile, according to official results released today, Bangladesh's ruling alliance has won virtually every parliamentary seat, giving Hasina a third straight term despite allegations of intimidation and the opposition disputing the outcome.

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