Russia has congratulated the people of Bangladesh on the successful completion of the national election.

Official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova in a statement on Friday said, “The results of the parliamentary election held in Bangladesh on January 7 have been summarised. Out of 300 parliamentary seats, 222 were won by the ruling Awami League (AL), which again managed to secure the support of the absolute majority of local citizens.”

“However, some opposition political parties regrettably abstained from participating in the electoral process. There were also attempts to influence it from outside, as we have already mentioned on 22 November and 15 December last year,” she said in the statement.

“The leadership of Bangladesh should be commended for creating the necessary conditions for the free expression of the electorate's will under those circumstances,” she added.

Zakharova said the legitimacy of the elections and their compliance with generally accepted standards were confirmed by both local and numerous (more than 200 people) international observers, including from Russia.

“The delegation of our country was led by Andrei Shutov, a member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation,” Zakharova said, adding that based on the results of the election, the new government of Bangladesh headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had previously held this post, was formed on January 11.

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin sent their congratulations to Sheikh Hasina on her inauguration.