this is d.w. news from early land national elections today in two countries where democracy has struggled to take brute you both are being counted in bangladesh where the ruling party looks at the book landslide victory in parliamentary polling but the opposition says it will project the outcome to the pilots and allegations of vote tampering. or correspondent. and the polls are closing in the democratic republic of congo for a presidential election that could result in a historic transfer of power after nearly two decades of strongman rule. monday.

night. plus wrapping for democracy in thailand we look back at one of our favorite the words of the past year. i'm calling to ask then thanks for joining us we start in bangladesh where prime minister sheikh is racing towards a landslide win in the country's parliamentary election but the opposition is calling foul dozens of opposition candidates hold out of the races amid allegations of vote tampering and intimidation and the leader of the opposition alliance has rejected the results violence has also marred the voting. it's an election that has been tainted by violence and vote rigging allegations ahead of the. authorities

limited internet access claiming online rumors could spread on rest. they also restricted the use of motor vehicles as a security precaution. about one hundred four million people were eligible to cast a ballot but the process didn't go smoothly for everyone. but i wasn't allowed to vote they told me to send a text message to get my serial number the one at least i did it four times but i didn't get a response. but with now i'm confused river i can vote or not only came with a lot of hope but now i'm very disappointed i know that's where have i rather like the whole process i felt very safe because of the heavy security i believe there is a free and fair election taking place or. a coup holiday. for decades the ruling awami league and the nationalist b.n.p. party have jostled for power but with opposition leader khaled as in prison prime

minister shaikh a senior was the clear favorite to win. during her time in power has seen has been credited with boosting the economy and welcoming refugees but critics say she's become increasingly authoritarian and accuse her of detaining opposition candidates and supporters. the leader of the opposition alliance come all are saying has already called the election farcical and this demanding a rerun. people are being killed people are being arrested candidates have been arrested and one dissident on president did not have heard of it would not be able to go as i could not even be able to. even a bag man i could not think it was bungled is up to forty seven you and i would have seen this in your bus and. despite heavy security the deadly clashes that marred the campaign continued on election day. it's been nearly fifty years since

bangladesh gained independence but the country still isn't free from political turmoil. our correspondent michele just wallace standing by for us in dhaka at the election media center there in the capital. according to local reports the prime minister has seen as now locked in a landslide victory even so we're still hearing the opposition alliance calling for a new election why's that. well the opposition claims that this election is rigged off far from new through the campaign process they have been raising questions while ns has marred the campaign process seven lives were lost in the last few weeks during campaigning and today as well at least seventeen or eighteen people have been reported dead the opposition says this was district ballot because of being stopped that is intimidation on the grounds on the ground and this is why they want this election to be held again under the caretaker

government however this is highly unlikely because they have no clear indications of would rigging or ballot box stuffing and the ruling party says it's just a case of storming was a they would have accepted an election but they won but this one does not fit them . so with that said with no signs of votes hampering is it possible though to say that this was a free and fair election. well the ruling party has repeatedly said that they are very proud of the fact that this was a part of the patriot election that's why it's important to note that in the last ten years this is the first possibly of three election because the last one was a walk through for the current government there was no opposition from the last time around however it is also worth noting that there has been violence across the country and talk itself talk only in the school because while we were on the ground we noticed certain signs of the fact that the on meet the ruling party held strong

by we saw no poorly almost no polling agents from the opposition on the ground and many people were concerned about this about the absence of the will of the of the of the opposition on the ground there's also no banners are out there in talk which actually shore position diva's so small signs north sea to science but of course there are indications that there were pressure and bond was exerted by this ruling party but this as it seems to doubted that this can that can lead to a quality election now that we know that prime minister singh will get that third consecutive term briefly if you can what agenda can we expect from her. well in the election don sheikh hasina has promised a continuance of the strong economic growth this government has shown over the last ten years an average of a seven per cent g.d.p. stronger than in dallas and baucus stance there will also be expectations however from a very strong to do with what the biggest fish does not care about the political

party they want better education unemployment is the big question being raised in this country right now and they would expect the government to deliver on that front as well dominic workers would expect better minimum wages so some promises to be kept and more to be made by the scottish government which is expected to come back tomorrow mr jay small reporting from dhaka for us thank you very much. to the day's other big election voters in the democratic republic of congo and pass casting their ballots for a new president the winner will take over from strongman joseph kabila who should have stepped down two years ago but instead postpone the election several times they've been reports of long lines and of glitches and polling stations but for the most part voters are simply happy to finally have their say. they waited for two years to cost seventy eight what difference will a few more hours in the pouring rain make. after eighteen years of the same man in

charge voters in kinshasa waited eagerly for that chance to select a new president. they have a choice between three main candidates two from the opposition and a former interior minister favored by outgoing president joseph kabila. but if you need me to go into i feel liberated and happy we completed my civic duty to deal with and have just voted in a historic election for norwood we are today you story. historic indeed the democratic republic of congo has never experienced a peaceful transition of power since gaining independence from belgium in one nine hundred sixty many a hoping that today will be the day including presidential contender martine fi you knew. was there it's done it's the end for joseph kabila. but there are problems with of bite

a lot of them. there are reports that many polling stations never even opened prompting frustration among voters. and the opposition is concerned that voting machines have been manipulated to help could be viewed as preferred successor when . two cities have been barred from voting a tool. residents in the opposition stronghold of benny and pretend will not be able to cast their vote congo's new leader this time around and officials cite it in a vote i break as the reason. in beni. own mock ballot in protest. that will likely only be the next election that is really had. now to some other stories making news around the world north korean leader kim jong un has sent a letter to south korean president moon asking for more peace talks between the two

in twenty nineteen kim said the leaders of the two koreas who met three times this year at taken bold measures to overcome years of hostility. at least fifty six people have been killed and some are still missing after a trench will rain triggered landslides and flash flooding in the eastern philippines more than twenty two thousand people fled their homes ahead of the storm rescue operations are underway but many of the affected areas are still inaccessible to to flooding. tens of thousands of serbians of marched through the capital belgrade again the protesters waved banners accusing president alexander of suppressing democratic liberties cracking down on political opponents and controlling the media. as the year comes to an end or looking back on some of our favorite stories of twenty eight. our correspondents brought us a range of reports featuring personal struggles political crises and violent conflicts from around the world but there were also stories that made us think

a little bit differently like these young people in thailand rapping for democracy under military dictatorship. on cell phones. in the streets in the cars. civil rap songs reverberating throughout. the world. or in english what my country has criticised this thailand. military government and the lack of freedom. to go back to. the work. that was in the country under a military dictatorship that has struck a chord especially among young thais the song got more than twenty million clicks on you tube in just a week and. it's sort of a voice for teenagers or young adults who can think that contact. we can only talk

amongst ourselves but we have no liberty or rights to speak out freely if you do speak your mind it will only be bad for yourself. and you can't change anything anyway. not daring to speak out something the group rappers against dictatorship wanted to change that's why they wrote about it in the. we think that anyone can use the phrase what my country's got the title of the song to speak out about whatever's on their mind what they think is the matter with our country and we hope that people will start being more critical when it comes to politics and. speaking out against the powerful has never been without risk in thailand but since the latest military coup four years ago it's become even more dangerous. also for

rappers against dictatorship the police had first declared they were investigating the group for a possible violation of the so-called computer crime act that could get them five years in prison but the announcement got a song that was five million clicks into things the authorities have since backed down. the lyrics don't contain anything that insults anyone personally that's why i never thought the song would draw attention from the authorities but when the police started talking about it that's really when it became so popular. on the outside thailand looks like a peaceful country. but there are deep divisions. time and again the country has been on the brink of civil war. for now the military government is

keeping a lid on things but below the surface it's starting to heat up again. there haven't been elections in more than four years is scheduled for february but what will they be worth if society doesn't change. people should develop a critical mindset in their everyday lives. i think if that were the case there would actually be less conflict within society conflict happens when people don't accept that others have a different opinion. if we could get that reach a compromise instead of fighting with those who don't share our opinion. that would be an important step towards a better future. for the middle name. please make up to be. ok.

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