NEW DELHI: Bangladesh’s political tensions escalated sharply on Thursday after the Awami League (AL) of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rejected the interim government’s decision to hold national elections on February 12, accusing the administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus of being “illegal and fascist.”
The Awami League’s move marks a fresh rupture in the standoff that has gripped the country since Hasina fled amid student-led protests in August 2024. In Dhaka, the interim government announced the first election schedule since her ouster, with nearly 128 million voters eligible to participate. But the AL, whose registration was suspended after its activities were banned, is barred from contesting—a restriction the party says renders the poll meaningless.
In a strongly worded statement, the AL alleged that the Yunus administration and its Election Commission lack the capacity to ensure a credible electoral process. “The Bangladesh Awami League has reviewed the election schedule announced by the illegal, occupying, killer-fascist Yunus clique’s illegal Election Commission… Under their control, it is impossible to ensure a fair and normal environment where transparency, neutrality, and the people’s will can be reflected,” the statement said.
The party renewed its demand that Yunus step down and warned that holding elections without the Awami League, “the party that led the Liberation War,” was an attempt to destabilise the country. “The Awami League has the strength, courage and capacity to stand before the people… Attempting to hold an election while excluding the… Awami League… is a scheme to push the country and the nation into a deep crisis,” it said.
The AL called for all restrictions on the party to be lifted, for “fabricated cases” against Hasina and other leaders to be withdrawn, and for the release of political prisoners “unconditionally.” It also demanded that the interim administration be replaced with a “neutral caretaker government to hold a free and participatory election.”
The deepening standoff has triggered concern across the region. Stepping up its mobilisation, the Awami League announced nationwide protests, including demonstrations after Friday prayers on December 12 and a morning-and-evening lockdown on December 13, as it pushes for what it calls a “people’s mandate-based” political settlement.