Bangladesh poll a ‘sham,’ Ex-FM urges US rejection

Washington:Bangladesh’s upcoming parliamentary election is a “sham election” with “no credibility,” country’s former foreign minister A K Abdul Momen said, urging the United States to publicly reject the vote and refuse recognition of a process in which “majority parties are banned from contesting” and “full participation of people” is denied.

The election, scheduled for February 12, has been “prearranged,” Momen alleged in an interview with IANS, and is being used by the authorities to push through “serious changes in the Bangladesh constitution as well as the values and principles of Bangladesh.”

He said parties commanding “around 60, 70 per cent” public support, along with “the aligned 12 parties,” have been prevented from taking part, leaving only “a select group of parties and select group of individuals” in the race.

Momen questioned the purpose of holding such a vote, arguing that elections are meant to restore stability and confidence. “We are going for the election to have stability, political stability, economic re recovery, and, you know, to eliminate fear and threat in the country,” he said.

“But the election is not going to improve any of them.” Instead, he warned, “My reading is it’ll bring more disaster to the country, the economy is going down, and will further go down.”

He said the economic consequences are already visible, with investment drying up. “There is no new investment, both domestic as well as foreign,” Momen said, adding that Bangladesh generates “around 2 million new job seekers in the market” annually. “They’ll be crying,” he said, warning that prolonged instability would worsen prospects for the country’s young population.

Asked who is effectively running the country, Momen said formal authority has been hollowed out under the interim administration led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who has been serving as chief adviser since August 8, 2024.

“He is running the country technically, but actually he has abdicated his responsibility,” Momen said, alleging that control has been handed to “a group of mulah, radical Islamists who are running the country.”

As a result, Momen alleged, “you see so much human rights violations, so much corruption, so much atrocities,” describing the current administration as “the most inefficient and ineffective administrator.”

Turning to Washington, Momen urged the United States to take a clear public stance. “Our expectation is US will not recognize this election,” he said, welcoming the decision by both the United States and the United Nations not to send election observers.

“The United States stands for democracy, full participation of people,” he said, adding that it was “high time for the USA… to make a public declaration that the upcoming election is a sham election and the US will not recognize that election.”

Momen also accused the interim authorities of fueling anti-India sentiment to deflect domestic criticism. “He (Mohd Yunus) has started a false propaganda against India,” he said, rejecting claims that earlier governments had compromised national interests. Agreements with India or other countries, he said, were always concluded “for mutual interest of both the countries,” and allegations to the contrary were “totally false propaganda.”

On foreign policy, Momen told IANS that Bangladesh’s traditional balancing approach has been abandoned. Previous governments, he said, maintained equilibrium among India, the United States, and China, but the current leadership has “made India an enemy,” while moving closer to China. “I think this is the wrong approach in South Asia,” he said, warning of long-term strategic consequences.5

Responding to a question, Momen warned of serious internal and regional risks if the current trajectory continues. “Bangladesh will go down in history,” he said, alleging that “jihadi terrorist” networks have gained ground. “These terrorists have no religion, no country. They have only one objective to destroy the establishment,” he said, cautioning that such forces do not remain confined within borders.

IANS