Bangladesh's principal opposition party has declared its intention to boycott the forthcoming general election unless Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina relinquishes her position in favor of a neutral government to oversee the electoral process. This statement comes amid a government crackdown on opposition figures and a series of violent protests.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), whose senior leadership is either imprisoned or in exile, is counting on the possibility that if Hasina does not step down to facilitate a caretaker government, their boycott of the January election would delegitimize her potential victory and could trigger international sanctions, as it did in 2014 when they boycotted the election but participated in 2018.
In May, the United States, a major importer of Bangladeshi garments, unveiled a policy permitting the restriction of visas for Bangladeshis who undermine the democratic election process in the nation of nearly 170 million people.
According to Abdul Moyeen Khan, a former minister and member of the BNP's highest policy-making body, "BNP and the opposition political parties will not go to a fake election... We will not legitimize a fake election this government intends to conduct by participating in it." He is resolute in their stance.
Zahir Uddin Swapon, a former BNP lawmaker, emphasized that Hasina's government would face scrutiny from Western governments if she failed to step down and allow a free and equitable election in which all parties could participate.
In contrast, Hasina, seeking her fourth consecutive five-year term, has consistently rejected the idea of handing over power to a caretaker government. She has also accused the BNP of engaging in "terrorism and hooliganism."
"Elections will happen like they do in countries such as Canada and India... like they did in 2018 in Bangladesh," she asserted at a recent press conference, emphasizing that "routine government work will not stop."
Amnesty International has condemned the government for making widespread arrests of opposition members, particularly after significant anti-government demonstrations over the weekend. This appears to be an effort to intimidate opposition figures ahead of the elections.
"The intensified crackdown on opposition party leaders and protesters over the weekend signals an attempt at a complete clamp-down on dissent," commented Yasasmin Kaviratne, Amnesty's regional campaigner for South Asia.
The BNP alleges that the police have detained nearly 2,300 of its activists since the October 28 protest, where they demanded Hasina's resignation and more than half a dozen party members have been killed. Two additional fatalities were reported on Tuesday during a three-day blockade organized by the BNP.
The police assert that some of the arrests are linked to the death of a policeman during the protests on Saturday.
Khaleda Zia, the BNP leader and two-time former prime minister, is effectively under house arrest on what her party claims are fabricated corruption charges. Her son and the BNP's acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, is in exile after facing several charges that he denies.
Shakil Ahmed, an assistant professor at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, noted that street violence has become a regular occurrence during power transitions in Bangladesh. Nevertheless, he believes that peace is attainable and suggests that civil society organizations could play a pivotal role in achieving it.
