Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina secured a fifth term in office in a controversial general election on Sunday.

The voting took place in a tense atmosphere with the military and police heavily guarding each polling station. Japanese election observers were monitoring the polls to check if the voting was free and fair.

Unofficial results show the ruling Awami League won a resounding victory. Hasina secured another five-year term to add to her nearly 15 years as prime minister.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted the election, claiming the vote would be rigged. It organized a series of protests since October, but all of them met with a crackdown by the security forces. Many leaders and activists have since been arrested.

The BNP has had to close and abandon its headquarters. The party's lawyer Mahdin Choudhury said, "Authorities are hunting our members, our activists, our followers. At nighttime, they are staying under the open sky in the paddy field, in the wet field. Because if they go to their house, the police will arrest them."

Some people praised Sheikh Hasina for converting Bangladesh from one of the world's poorest countries to one of the fastest growing economies. But many were indifferent to the election. One rickshaw driver said, "I've never seen an election like this. They should be more exciting with many parties and candidates. This is like an election for one person. I didn't vote." Another driver said, "I don't have a job now. I need money to go back to my home village to vote, so I didn't go."

With the legitimacy of the one-sided elections called into question, Prime Minister Hasina needs to demonstrate respect for human rights as well as working on improving the lives of 170 million people.