Awami League warns of instability in Bangladesh, calls election a ‘farcical poll’

Dhaka: As polling began for high-stakes Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh on Thursday, the Awami League appealed to the international community to save the country from collapsing, calling the polls a “sham”.

The party stated that this “staged exercise” is not just about sidelining the Awami League but also excludes several political parties that oppose radical ideology and advocate for a liberal Bangladesh.

It claimed that millions of voters aligned with the political belief of the Awami League are subjected to death threats, intimidation and state-sponsored violence, forcing them to cast the ballot “against their will, a meticulous design to inflate voter turnout”.

“Rampant mob terror, including lynching and a wave of brutal torture, has dominated the climate of these sham polls. Jails have been overflowing not only with supporters of the Awami League. Alongside scores of journalists, rights activists and anti-war crimes campaigners were framed in false murder charges and languishing behind bars,” read a statement issued by the Awami League.

Highlighting the plight of minorities following the ouster of the Awami League government, the party said, “In the run-up to this farcical polls, millions of minorities have been pushed to the verge of extinction as sweeping impunity has been granted for killing and violence, branding them as supporters of the Awami League. Women, who constitute half of the voters, await a grim future as they are also excluded from national policy making to a new low, in the name of democracy building.”

The Awami League alleged that visuals have emerged showing election engineering efforts by contesting parties, in blatant disregard of the code of conduct.

Emphasising that all the past elections were not ideal, the party warned that the outcome of this exercise “will tear apart the syncretic fabric” that sets Bangladesh apart from other nations.

Slamming the interim government, the party said that in the name of a referendum, the Yunus regime “squandered public money and campaigned for a yes vote, a clear sign of dictating the outcome instead of relying on the public verdict”.

“The referendum, which seeks to scrap secularism, is an outright unconstitutional exercise plotted to erase the founding constitution that has been born out of the blood of millions of war heroes who fought and own this flag and freedom from the Pakistani occupational army.”

The Awami League called on the foreign observers and all international stakeholders to objectively highlight the “flaws and sheer abuses” unfolding in this election.

“Legitimacy to this exercise by relying on lofty words from Yunus will drag the country into prolonged instability. In the last seventeen months, the regime proved to have trampled on the tall pledges, reducing the country into a dangerous place and a safe haven for intolerant outfits,” it noted.

Meanwhile, voting in Bangladesh is underway. Polling is being conducted across 299 parliamentary constituencies, with the counting of votes scheduled to commence immediately after voting concludes.

The political landscape is now expected to undergo a significant shift with the formation of a democratically elected government, with many analysts projecting the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) as the likely winner.

Following the recent death of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the BNP is currently being led by her son Tarique Rahman, who is widely seen as the frontrunner for the Prime Minister’s position.

The BNP’s principal challenger in the election is the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, a hardline Islamic party that previously shared an alliance with the BNP. Although political observers largely predict a BNP victory, many believe Jamaat-e-Islami could deliver its strongest electoral performance to date.

IANS