Bangladesh would remain politically unstable if the current interim government, headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, fails to hold an inclusive election, said Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the son of Awami League President and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Sajeeb Wazed called on the interim government to lift a ban on the party, saying that an election planned for February 2026โexcluding the Awami Leagueโ would be a sham.
โThis ban has to be lifted, the elections have to be inclusive and free and fair,โ Sajeeb Wazed, who was a former adviser to the government headed by her mother, told the AP from Washington D.C.
โWhat is happening now really is an attempt to keep my mother and our political leaders from running in elections. This is political manipulation disguised as justice,โ he added.
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In May, the interim government banned the activities of the Awami League party until the trials at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) end.
Six rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists, issued a letter to Yunus last week urging an end to the โbroad banโ on Awami Leagueโs activities, saying it โexcessively restricts freedom of association, assembly, and expression and has been used to arrest Awami League members and perceived supporters engaged in peaceful activities.โ
Sajeeb Wazed has been living in the US for the last 30 years and faced intimidation from the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations as his mother, Sheikh Hasina, started an investigation into corruption and embezzlement by Yunus in 2011.
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If the Awami League party is not given enough time to prepare for the election, the results โwill not be recognised by the people of the country, by international observers. We are not allowed to conduct any election preparation. So even if the ban is lifted at the last minute, the elections will be a sham,โ he said.
Bangladesh, a parliamentary democracy with a population of 170 million, has 52 registered political parties.
Islamist party returns
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is the main contender in the next election. Another major party, Jatiya Party (JaPa), is not allowed to operate openly, with its party headquarters attacked and burned down and its rallies routinely thwarted.
Bangladeshโs political landscape is also more fragmented than before after the countryโs largest Islamist party, the Jamaat-e-Islami, returned to politics more than a decade after it was suppressed by Hasinaโs government. Over the last year, it has significantly expanded its presence and is attempting to build an alliance with other hardline Islamist groups and parties.
Sajeeb Wazed said Islamists would gain if Bangladesh remained unstable. He blamed Yunus for backing them and planning a โrigged electionโ to bring them to power.
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He acknowledged some initial โmistakesโ from the Awami League government, which has been accused of brutally cracking down on the protesters, but disputed a United Nations report saying up to 1,400 people may have been killed during the uprising. He cited a statement from a health adviser under Yunus, saying that about 800 people, including protesters, police and Awami League supporters, were killed.
Human rights accusations
Sajeeb Wazed said all the deaths were โregrettableโ and needed a thorough investigation, but questioned the Yunus-led governmentโs decision to grant immunity to the protesters involved in last yearโs violence. He also accused Yunusโ government of initiating a witch-hunt against Hasina, who has been charged with crimes against humanity.
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Last week, the Jamaat-backed chief prosecutor of the ICT-BD sought the death penalty for Sheikh Hasinaโa move that proves politically motivated trials. She did not appoint any lawyers to represent her, and she had earlier rejected the trial process as a โkangaroo court.โ
Sajeeb Wazed also accused the Yunus government of violating human and political rights, saying tens of thousands of Awami League party supporters have been jailed for over a year and denied bail, with many of them charged with murder.
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He claimed that some 500 Awami League activists have been murdered since the uprising, mostly by mobs, and 31 party activists have died in custody.
โThe human rights record of this regime is brutal,โ Sajeeb Wazed said, adding that the countryโs religious minorities, especially Hindus, are a prime target.
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