Over the previous three elections in Bangladesh, the Awami League party of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina faced accusations of eroding voting rights, prompting major opposition parties to boycott the polls.
Now, after her ouster in last year’s student-led uprising, her party finds itself excluded from the upcoming vote, slated for February 2026. Hasina, now living in self-imposed exile in India, has called for a boycott of next year’s elections.
The Awami League and its affiliated wings have been barred from political activity since May, following an executive order issued by the interim government.
The interim administration has yet to say whether the Awami League will be allowed to contest the upcoming national elections. But a telling signal came in July, when the Election Commission suspended the party’s iconic symbol, the Boat, raising doubts among supporters about its future on the ballot.
In her first interview since fleeing to India, Hasina told Reuters news agency on October 29 that banning Awami League is “unjust” and “self-defeating” and would only further divide Bangladesh. She also warned of mass boycott by her supporters at next year’s elections.
Hasina urges supporters to shun poll
A United Nations report estimates up to 1,400 deaths and thousands of injuries, mostly from security force gunfire, during the crackdown by Hasina’s government against street protests between July 15 and August 5, 2024.
The UN said it was Bangladesh’s worst violence since its independence war in 1971, in which the Awami League played a central role in the fight against the Pakistani army.
Hasina, along with senior Awami League leaders, is on trial for crimes against humanity linked to last year’s uprising and clampdown. A verdict is expected on November 13, with Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam demanding the death penalty.
During the interview, the former prime minister dismissed the proceedings, saying that “a guilty verdict is pre-ordained” as calling for Awami League supporters to shun the elections.
“Millions support the Awami League, so as things stand, they will not vote,” she told Reuters. “You cannot disenfranchise millions if you want a political system that works.”
The interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has brushed off Hasina’s boycott call.
“There is no Awami League anymore,” said press secretary Shafiqul Alam. “They occasionally stage a quick procession, maybe a few people earn a couple of dollars. That’s all.”
What does barring Awami League mean for electoral inclusiveness?
Despite the press secretary’s dismissive tone, the hard numbers suggest otherwise. Even in its worst performance in the 2001 election, when it won just 62 of 300 seats, the Awami League secured over 22 million votes. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), despite winning 193 seats, only led by about a million more votes, highlighting the Awami League’s enduring popular base.
Senior journalist and political analyst Masood Kamal notes that many of the Awami League supporters remain “ideologically and historically devoted” to the party despite the allegations against its leadership.
“Let’s assume the Awami League’s ‘autocratic rule’ has eroded its support base. Even then, it would still have no fewer than 10 million loyal voters. If the party is kept off the ballot, what options will these voters have?” Kamal told DW.
An updated voter list published in August by the Election Commission shows 126 million registered voters, including over 4.5 million new voters. Young adults from Generation Z, who led the uprising that ousted Hasina, are expected to play a decisive role in the upcoming elections. A further update is expected, which may increase their numbers.
Badiul Alam Majumdar, head of the government’s electoral reform commission and an election expert, believes Hasina’s boycott call won’t have much impact.
“I don’t see a problem with the Boat symbol missing from the ballot,” he told DW. “Supporters will still have options and can vote freely for candidates they prefer.”
When asked about electoral inclusiveness, Majumdar placed the blame squarely on the Awami League. “They brought it on themselves by engaging in criminal activities,” he said.
He added that they should not be allowed to contest elections “until they come to terms with the atrocities committed.”
“They’re not even showing regret or remorse for what they’ve done.”
Kamal, the political analyst, argues that punishing a political party isn’t the government’s role but should be left to the courts or the people.
“The public has seen the crimes committed by the previous government,” he told DW. “They must be the ones to reject it. The greatest punishment a party can face is through the ballot.”
Smaller parties fear they could be next
It’s not just the Awami League facing the threat of exclusion. The Jatiya Party, often accused of legitimizing past elections by participating when many others boycotted, is also under pressure. Since the fall of the Awami League, calls to ban the Jatiya Party have grown louder, raising fears of a broader crackdown on political pluralism.
While not officially banned, the Jatiya Party was excluded from the interim government’s year-long reform talks. The National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by some leaders of the 2024 uprising, has made banning the Jatiya Party one of its demands.
At a public event in Dhaka this week, NCP Secretary-General Akhter Hossain likened the Jatiya Party to the Awami League. “The government has assured that the Awami League will be kept out of the elections,” he said. “However, allowing the Jatiya Party is the same as allowing the Awami League.”
Shamim Haider Patwary, the secretary-general of the Jatiya Party, views this mindset as a serious threat to the country’s democratic progress.
“Excluding the Jatiya Party from all discussions sends a clear message to the administration that this party’s rights do not need to be protected,” Patwary said in an interview with DW.
“This is going to be a rigged vote. Jatiya Party is being treated as an ‘almost-banned’ party. This is not a good sign,” he said.
Calls for Awami League ban to be lifted
While Majumdar, the electoral reform commission head, says the Awami League’s legal troubles are their own doing, rights groups, journalists and other parties in Bangladesh have denounced the government’s ban on the Awami League.
Six international human rights groups, including CIVICUS, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Fortify Rights, and Human Rights Watch, sent a joint letter to Bangladesh’s chief adviser Yunus, urging the government to lift the ban. They warned that such restrictions could harm democratic rights and political fairness.
The letter called on the Interim Government to “refrain from political party bans that would undermine a return to a genuine multi-party democracy and effectively disenfranchise a large part of the Bangladeshi electorate.”
Journalist Masood Kamal argues that “banning a political party with an executive order” is not “a sign of a civilized society.”
“The irony is that this government was meant to be one of unity. Instead, it has become a tool of division,” Kamal added.
Edited by: Karl Sexton
