The threat of political instability was looming in Bangladesh yesterday as a landslide election victory by Ms Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh National Party (BNP) that traded heavily on Islamic support looked likely to be rejected by its main Awami League rivals.
With early results showing the country's 75 million electorate had given a BNP-led alliance a comfortable majority, the Awami League leader, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, gave the first indication of trouble ahead by dismissing the ballot as "rigged".
Her allegation came despite a positive verdict from a group of 200 international observers deployed nationally to ensure a fair vote after a violent election campaign that claimed more than 140 lives.
Mr Tony Reis, co-ordinator of the UN Electoral Assistance Secretariat teams, said observers agreed the elections were "generally free and fair" but expressed concern over intimidation and violence.
The outgoing prime minister later held open the threat of a boycott on parliament, a move which would pose a serious setback for Bangladesh's young democracy and further hamper efforts to improve living standards in this desperately poor nation of 129 million people.
It was hoped the elections would prove a significant milestone in the country's democratic journey, which has previously been beset by allegations of massive corruption and intense antagonism between the main political powers.
But, unless Sheikh Hasina accepts the result, Ms Zia's government could be dogged by the same strikes and violence that have long been a feature on Bangladesh's treacherous political landscape and were used by her own supporters against the Awami League's 1996-2001 administration.
Despite the protests, Sheikh Hasina in July became the first prime minister to complete a full five-year term in office when she handed over power to the caretaker government of Latifur Rahman which was given the task with organising the election.
According to Sheikh Hasina, the caretaker government process, which was brought in after the collapse of elections in 1996, was particularly culpable in her party's crushing defeat.
"This election was not fair," she said. She also warned that Islamic parties allied to the BNP would "use Islam as a political weapon, tarnishing the country's image as a secular ... nation in the international community."