Bangladesh’s upcoming parliamentary election is a โsham electionโ with โno credibility,โ country’s former foreign minister Prof. Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen said, urging the United States to publicly reject the vote and refuse recognition of a process in which โmajority parties are banned from contestingโ and โfull participation of peopleโ is denied.
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The election, scheduled for February 12, has been โprearranged,โ Momen alleged in an interview with IANS on Friday, and is being used by the authorities to push through โserious changes in the Bangladesh constitution as well as the values and principles of Bangladesh.โ
He said parties commanding around 60-70% public support, along with โthe aligned 12 parties,โ have been prevented from taking part, leaving only a select group of parties and a select group of individuals in the race.
Momen questioned the purpose of holding such a vote, arguing that elections are meant to restore stability and confidence. โWe are going for the election to have stability, political stability, economic recovery, and, you know, to eliminate fear and threat in the country,โ he said.
โBut the election is not going to improve any of them.โ Instead, he warned, โMy reading is it’ll bring more disaster to the country, the economy is going down, and will further go down.โ
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He said the economic consequences are already visible, with investment drying up. โThere is no new investment, both domestic as well as foreign,โ Momen said, adding that Bangladesh generates โaround 2 million new job seekers in the marketโ annually. โThey’ll be crying,โ he said, warning that prolonged instability would worsen prospects for the country’s young population.
Asked who is effectively running the country, Momen said formal authority has been hollowed out under the Jamaat-controlled interim administration led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who has been serving as chief adviser since August 8, 2024.
โHe is running the country technically, but actually he has abdicated his responsibility,โ Momen said, alleging that control has been handed to a group of mullahs, radical Islamists who are running the country.
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As a result, Momen alleged, โyou see so much human rights violations, so much corruption, so much atrocities,โ describing the current administration as โthe most inefficient and ineffective administrator.โ
Turning to Washington, Momen urged the United States to take a clear public stance. โOur expectation is US will not recognise this election,โ he said, welcoming the decision by both the United States and the United Nations not to send election observers.
โThe United States stands for democracy, full participation of people,โ he said, adding that it was โhigh time for the USA… to make a public declaration that the upcoming election is a sham election, and the US will not recognise that election.โ
Momen also accused the interim authorities of fueling anti-India sentiment to deflect domestic criticism. โHe (Muhammad Yunus) has started a false propaganda against India,โ he said, rejecting claims that earlier governments had compromised national interests. Agreements with India or other countries, he said, were always concluded โfor mutual interest of both the countries,โ and allegations to the contrary were โtotally false propaganda.โ
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On foreign policy, Momen told IANS that Bangladesh’s traditional balancing approach has been abandoned. Previous governments, he said, maintained equilibrium among India, the United States, and China, but the current leadership has โmade India an enemy,โ while moving closer to China. โI think this is the wrong approach in South Asia,โ he said, warning of long-term strategic consequences.
Responding to a question, Momen warned of serious internal and regional risks if the current trajectory continues. โBangladesh will go down in history,โ he said, alleging that โjihadi terroristโ networks have gained ground.
โThese terrorists have no religion, no country. They have only one objective to destroy the establishment,โ he said, cautioning that such forces do not remain confined within borders.
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