Bangladesh – Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned that millions of supporters of her Awami League party will boycott next year’s national elections after the party was barred from participating. She confirmed she will not return to Bangladesh under any government formed without her party and declared her intention to remain in India, where she fled in August 2014 following a bloody student uprising.
Speaking to Reuters from her exile in New Delhi, Hasina, 78, said the ban on her party was “not only unjust, but also self-defeating.” She stressed that the next government must have electoral legitimacy. She also said that millions of Awami League supporters would be unable to exercise their right to vote if the party were excluded from the race.
The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) dominate the country’s political landscape. The BNP is expected to win the upcoming elections. The Election Commission suspended the Awami League’s registration in May. The government of Mohammad Yunus has banned all of the party’s activities, citing national security risks and ongoing war crimes investigations against senior party leaders.
Hasina denied all charges of committing crimes against humanity during the student protests of mid-2014, which, according to UN reports, resulted in the deaths of up to 1,400 people and injuries to thousands. She asserted that the legal proceedings against her were “a politically motivated charade” and described the trials as “show trials.”
Despite the unrest, Hasina said the Awami League would continue to play a role in Bangladesh’s future, whether in government or opposition. She also stressed that the country’s future is not determined by one person or family. She added that her current priority is ensuring the well-being and stability of Bangladesh before considering a return to politics.
Hasina fled to India after being ousted, but remains under personal protection in Delhi. She is closely monitoring the situation in Bangladesh, warning that holding elections without her party “sows the seeds” of further social and political division.
