🇧🇩 The Next Election with or without Awami League

[Saif]

Elections without Awami League won’t be unacceptable : Badiul Alam
UNB
Updated: 14 Sep 2024, 21: 28

Badiul Alam Majumdar speaking at the shadow parliament debate competition organised by the Debate for Democracy at the FDC Auditorium, in the capital on Saturday. UNB

Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of ‘Citizens for Good Governance’ (SHUJAN), has said that elections will “not be unacceptable” without Awami League’s participation.

Awami League has completely destroyed the electoral system in this country by conducting “dummy, one-sided and midnight” elections, he said.

Majumdar, also head of the Commission for Electoral System Reforms, made these remarks on Saturday while speaking at the shadow parliament debate competition organised by the Debate for Democracy at the FDC Auditorium, in the capital.

Chairman of Debate for Democracy Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran presided over the event.

Those involved in the destruction of the electoral system should be brought to justice, Majumdar added.

“In the last three parliamentary elections, almost everyone connected with the election including election commission, police, administration, returning officers, polling officers were involved in criminal activities,” he said.

“The election commission has committed a clear violation of the constitution by partisanship of the electoral system under various pretexts,” the SHUJAN secretary further stated.

The EC had shown irresponsibility regarding the planned attack on BNP’s Naya Paltan rally on 28 October to keep the party out of the elections. EC failed to prepare a level playing field for elections.

So, the issue of trial of all the persons accused of election crimes should be seriously considered.

The current government is not a caretaker government. The caretaker government was the routine government. The interim government is struggling to clear the mess of the last 15/16 years.

“Even then, delaying national elections could erode public confidence in the interim government,” he believed.

In his speech, Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran said, the people of this country have not forgotten how the voting of the day took place at night.

“Votes were cast in the name of dead people; 100pc votes were cast somewhere.”

“Journalists were prohibited from entering the polling stations. Although 8 to 10 per cent of votes were counted, the number of votes was increased to 40 to 45 per cent,” he added.

In the debate competition, Dhaka International University won by defeating Jagannath University.​

 

[Saif]

‘In the short run, Awami League doesn’t have a place in Bangladesh’: Yunus tells FT

The chief adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus has said the Awami League exhibited ‘all the characteristics of fascism’ and it has ‘no place’ in the country’s politics for now...

www.newagebd.net

‘In the short run, Awami League doesn’t have a place in Bangladesh’: Yunus tells FT
United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka 30 October, 2024, 16:51

Bangladesh’s interim government chief adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus | UNB/ Collected photo

The chief adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus has said the Awami League exhibited ‘all the characteristics of fascism’ and it has ‘no place’ in the country’s politics for now.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Yunus also said that Bangladesh would not pursue the extradition of Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India, until the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal delivers its verdict.

Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, expressed a firm stance against the Awami League, the party led by Hasina.

‘In the short run, definitely she has no place — the Awami League doesn’t have a place — in Bangladesh,’ he said.

He further criticised the party’s tactics: ‘They controlled the people, they controlled the [political] machinery, they controlled the institutions to enhance their interest.’

Awami League has faced accusations from political opponents and human rights groups over election rigging, extrajudicial killings, and seizing control of state institutions during Hasina’s lengthy rule. Since her departure, discussions in Bangladesh have emerged on whether to temporarily suspend the party, mandate its reform, or ban it from political involvement altogether, the Financial Times report said.

The chief adviser speculated that Awami League might collapse, but he emphasised that any decision regarding the party’s political future would be the prerogative of other political parties, as his interim government is not ‘a political government.’

He noted that whether Awami League could participate in future elections would depend on a ‘consensus’ among political parties. ‘They have to decide their political space,’ he said.

Yunus, known for his pioneering work with Grameen Bank and as a self-described ‘banker to the poor,’ had previously been targeted by Hasina’s administration. His interim government, which includes student leaders, is setting the stage for elections and has established 10 commissions for reforms in key institutions like the police, judiciary and public administration, added the report.

He expressed no intention of forming a political party or joining politics, saying, ‘Our job is to get things settled and get a new reform agenda done,’ before engaging political parties in election preparations.

The fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government has strained relations with India, which had been her key supporter.

Yunus mentioned that while his government would eventually seek her extradition, they would wait for a tribunal verdict.

‘She is charged with crimes against humanity...when the verdict comes out, we’ll try to get her back through the extradition treaty’ with India,’ said Yunus, who did not believe there was cause to pursue this before a verdict, the report also said.

Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, had earlier dismissed allegations of her responsibility for violence against protesters, claiming she was prepared to face any charges as she ‘did nothing illegal.’

After Hasina’s ousting, many of her supporters went into hiding, with reports of retaliatory violence against Awami League members.

Chief adviser Yunus also acknowledged the impact of India’s lukewarm support on his government, noting that the two nations are closely interconnected through power, water, and infrastructure projects, and share a long history. He extended an invitation to Modi, saying, ‘We tried to… emphasise the fact that we are neighbours, we need each other, we must have the best relationship that any two neighbours should have.’​