Ex-Bangladesh Minister urges lifting of Awami League ban, raises concerns over Feb polls

Dhaka: Former Bangladesh minister and Awami League leader Mohammad Ali Arafat has called for the immediate removal of the ban on his party, saying the move is essential to restore political pluralism and uphold democratic principles.

He alleged that Bangladesh’s February 12 parliamentary elections were “pre-arranged and rigged” and lacked democratic legitimacy.

Taking to his social media platform X, Arafat posted: “To put things into perspective, imagine an election in the UK without the Labour Party or the Conservative Party—would you call that a real election? Similarly, in the context of the USA, if an election were held without either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, what would you call that?”

“Especially if one of the parties is illegally banned or forced out of the election, can such an election be considered free and fair? That is exactly what happened in Bangladesh in February 2026,” he added.

Arafat further said that the Awami League, one of Bangladesh’s major political parties, was “illegally” banned by the former Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration and barred from contesting the election, disenfranchising millions of voters.

He highlighted that the “ban on the Awami League remains in place, preventing it from carrying out political activities”, while “the right to vote was denied in the election, and the rights to assembly, expression, and raising one’s voice have been continuously suppressed in Bangladesh”.

Expressing concerns over the crackdown on the party, Arafat said that thousands of Awami League leaders and grassroots activists are being targeted with “fabricated murder” and other criminal charges, resulting in large-scale imprisonment.

“Many are unjustly denied bail, and even when bail is granted, they are often re-arrested and detained at the jail gate in a blatant abuse of power. This systematic harassment is not only unjust but also a deliberate attempt to silence opposition voices and undermine democratic principles,” he noted.

Arafat stressed that the Awami League maintained a consistent position on ensuring justice for the casualties during the July–August 2024 unrest, emphasising the need for impartial investigations and accountability.

However, he alleged that the former Yunus administration had used the July–August incidents “as a political tool, weaponising them to implicate Awami League leaders and activists in false murder cases in order to suppress them” rather than ensuring genuine accountability.

Citing a UN fact-finding report, Arafat stated that around 1,400 people died during the 2024 unrest, while anti-Awami League political parties have cited figures of up to 2,000 in their “political rhetoric”. However, in reality, he claimed that approximately 800 verified names of victims have been identified from the July–August unrest.

“No thorough investigation has been conducted to determine how these individuals were killed or who was responsible. Instead, political rhetoric continues to be propagated to place all the blame on the then Awami League government,” Arafat stated.

Asserting that the current situation in Bangladesh falls far short of “any credible standard of democracy, human rights, or the rule of law”, the Awami League leader said, “The conscience of the international community must not remain silent; voices must be raised urgently to confront and end this oppression.”

IANS