Turmoil in Bangladesh: Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami Claims Awami League will Rig the Jatiya Sangsad Election
By
Nava Thakuria, New Age Islam
7 November
2023
The ground
situation in Bangladesh remains disturbed as the opposition parties continue
demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, but she had already
rejected it outrightly. The political opponents have threatened to boycott the
forthcoming national election due in January next year and pronounced
nationwide protest demonstrations and blockades across the south Asian country.
The daylong agitation in Dhaka by the prime opposition Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP) on 28 October and subsequent blockades by its political allies
protesting the high handedness of the Bangladesh police as well as the ruling
Awami League workers had merged with a series of violent incidents killing a
number people. Thus, our neighbouring nation has already slipped to the cycle
of chaos and violence.
Khaleda Zia
led BNP, which boycotted the 2014 general elections but reluctantly
participated in 2018 polls, vows to boycott the electoral exercise if PM Hasina
does not resign paving the way for a neutral caretaker government in Dhaka. The
combined opposition parties including the largest Islamist party
Jamaat-e-Islami claim that Hasina and her party workers will rig the polls in
her favour as she is seeking the mandate from nearly 120 million Bangladeshi
voters for her consecutive fourth five-year term in office. The daughter of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (who led the 1971 freedom movement against the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan) Hasina has already stated that neither she will resign
nor the Jatiya Sangsad be dissolved prior to the January election.
The
determined Awami leader disclosed that an election-time government will
function during the polls to run the regular affairs without any major policy
decisions. The election commission made a public statement that it had no other
option except to conduct the election on time as per guidelines of the
Bangladesh Constitution. It revealed that the constitution specifies that the
polls for Jatiya Sangsad (with 300 elected members) must be organised within 90
days before the end of its full term. The three-months count for the current
Parliament has just begun on 1 November and the 12th national election must be
conducted and completed by 29 January.
By now
political disturbances in the developing nation have attracted the attention of
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, who called on all parties in Bangladesh
to refrain from violence, any excessive use of force, and arbitrary detention
of individuals. The UN office of the high commissioner for human rights echoed
similar concerns. Seven influential countries (namely the United States of
America, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, Canada, Australia, Japan and
Norway) issued a joint statement through their diplomatic missions to condemn
the ongoing political violence in Bangladesh following confrontations between
the workers of BNP and Awami League from time to time.
Even though
Bangladesh is burning with political turmoil, India continues to engage the
Hasina government for various bilateral initiatives including the enhancement
of rail, bus & waterway services as well as cross-border energy trades.
Lately Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Hasina
virtually inaugurated three major connectivity and energy projects including a
cross-border rail link that connects Agartala with Akhaura. The international
rail link will help better connectivity for tourists from both the countries
and north-eastern traders to use Chittagong port of Bangladesh in need.
Tripura
chief minister Manik Saha, who was also present on the occasion, commented that
the 12.24-kilometre railway line (5.46 km in India and 6.7 km in Bangladesh)
will reduce the distance between Agartala and Kolkata from 1,600 km to 500 km
only.
Political
observers predict a probable electoral loss for Hasina if the polls are
conducted in a free and fair manner. But the BNP (if they finally decide to
participate in the election) may not emerge as a winner. In such a situation,
the Muslim majority country may go to the hands of military dictators once
again. Moreover, the Islamist elements may grab the opportunity to fulfil their
long desire to make Bangladesh an Islamic nation with little hope for its
return to a Parliamentary democracy. These all may jeopardise bilateral
relationships with Dhaka making significant negative impacts on northeast
India.
A matter of
concern for the north-eastern people indeed.
------
Nava Thakuria is a northeast India-based
professional journalist who is an engineering graduate.
URL: https://newageislam.com/current-affairs/bangladesh-islamist-jamaat-islami-sangsad-election/d/131058
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