Political Unrest in Bangladesh ahead of Elections

Eman Nawab

There has been chaos in Bangladesh in recent times. Anti-government rallies in the capital Dhaka, arrests of opposition leaders, and violent clashes between police and protestors left at least 3 people dead and around 100 injured. For context, the general elections are scheduled in the country for January 2024. Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League has been ruling the country for three consecutive terms and aims at a victory this time as well.

Around a hundred thousand protestors poured into the capital on the weekend. They are the supporters of the major opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) along with the Jamat-e-Islami. The Jamat-e-Islami is an Islamist party that has been banned in Bangladesh due to involvement in radical activities in the past. Whereas the leader of BNP Khaleda Zia who is also a former Prime Minister has been under house arrest since 2018 for corruption charges. She has requested to leave the country for medical reasons but has not been granted permission by the government to do so. The party has been led by Mirza Islam Alamgir since Zia’s arrest. However, he too has been detained during this ongoing episode.

Talking about the demands, the protestors want the sitting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and transfer of power to a caretaker government. However, the possibility for this to happen is very unlikely. The protest has escalated into violence with protestors setting vehicles on fire and vandalizing government property. They have threatened to call more aggressive protests like blockades and strikes if their conditions are not met. The demonstrators claim they were being harassed by the police their smartphones were checked upon entering the capital and their hotels were raided. However, despite the resistance, they say they will not give up on their agenda which is to establish clean and fair elections under a neutral government. Chanting of slogans like vote thief Sheikh Haseena vote thief can be heard during the rallies.

Security has been heightened in Dhaka with around ten thousand policemen being deployed to control violence. The police were seen firing rubber bullets and tear gas. The protestors came to the capital on Saturday crammed into busses despite checkpoints on the road. Former DG Border Guards Bangladesh Lt Gen (R) Abdul Hossein in an interview with a television channel said,

“Sheikh Haseena wants the people to live in peace and have better opportunities. This is the dream of Awami League. As long as Awami League was in government Bangladesh got developed. In the upcoming 2024 elections if Awami league forms government we will have a developed, prosperous, sustainable, innovative, and science-oriented Bangladesh.”

Looking at Bangladeshi law the Supreme Court has declared the option of a caretaker government as unconstitutional. This too has a background story to it. The caretaker provision was introduced in Bangladesh in the 1990s. The last caretaker government took charge in 2006 and by law should have stepped down in ninety days. However, it ended up ruling till the year 2008. It also jailed prominent leaders like Sheikh Haseena and Khalida Zia. After this, the concept of a caretaker government was removed from the country’s constitution.

Now comes the question of what is the reason for such violent ongoing protests. It is to be noted that although the country has progressed economically with its GDP per capita overtaking even India at one point, there are many grievances of the people. The inflation has reached new heights with food prices going up to around twelve percent, the highest in twelve years. Moreover, the security forces under her government are accused of detaining tens of thousands of opposition activists, killing hundreds in extra-judicial encounters, and disappearing hundreds of leaders and supporters. The people believe this is a breach of their independence and freedom to voice their own opinion.

The Western government has voiced its concern about the political climate in Bangladesh. The European Union usually sends a full team of election observers to Dhaka but this time they say the necessary conditions are not in place to do so. It is known that Haseena’s government has Indian-friendly policies and a hostile attitude towards Pakistan. Whatever the result of the election might be it will have a significant impact not only on Bangladesh but the neighboring countries as well.

The writer is a student of Peace and Conflict Studies.