2,001 expatriate Bangladeshis call for boycott of election, referendum

A group of 2,001 Bangladeshis living abroad has issued a joint statement, urging the people of Bangladesh to boycott the February 12 national election and the accompanying referendum, describing them as a “farce” and fundamentally undemocratic.

In the statement, the expatriates asserted that the Awami League and like-minded parties enjoy the support of approximately 50% of the country’s voters. Excluding such a large segment makes any genuine democratic election impossible, they argued.

They further stated that the current environment is wholly unsuitable for holding polls, marked by widespread mob violence, rape, enforced disappearances, and murders that have created an atmosphere of pervasive fear.

The signatories highlighted severe repression: voices of journalists, professionals, and intellectuals have been systematically silenced through intimidation, fabricated cases, arbitrary arrests, physical assaults, and arson attacks on newspaper offices. As a result, they claimed, the majority of Bangladeshis have become deeply alienated from politics and elections. Under such conditions, the upcoming vote cannot be considered a democratic exercise in any meaningful sense.

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The statement also condemned the referendum as an attempt to discard the core spirit of the 1972 Constitution. The expatriates accused certain elements of seeking to consolidate personal power through this “mockery” of an election and to impose what they described as a “Pakistani mindset.”

“We make an impassioned appeal to the people of Bangladesh to reject this undemocratic and farcical election,” the statement concluded.

The declaration was signed on behalf of the expatriate community by the following individuals, among a total of 2,001 signatories, including Syed Mozammel Ali (United Kingdom), Dr. Ansar Ahmed Ullah (United Kingdom), Alhaj Shamsuddin Khan (United Kingdom), Dr. Arafat Khan (United Kingdom), Aminul Haque Palash (United Kingdom), Dr. Nurun Nabi (United States), Engineer Rana Hasan Mahmud (United States), Swikriti Barua (United States), M. Nazrul Islam (Austria), Mohammad Hasan (Canada), Nurul Amin (Canada), Dr. Abdul Awal (Canada), Shaila Ahmed Lopa (Canada) and Dr. Sarwar Jahangir (United States).