While the Yunus-led interim administration has been portraying the Awami League as a demonic force using the media and carrying out mass arrests in a record number of murder cases, one year into the changeover, independent journalists at home and global media reports suggest that attempts to keep the party at bay will be a boomerang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the leading parties that are key allies of the regime have engaged in heated arguments over major reform proposals, including those related to the next elections\u2014slated for early February\u2014and many allege that the regime has lost credibility to hold an impartial and fair election due to its inclination towards the King\u2019s party\u2014National Citizen Party (NCP)\u2014and hardline Jamaat-e-Islami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
International organisations, like the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR<\/a>) and the Atlantic Council, the Indian government, and independent journalists, including Masood Kamal, have criticised the government for banning the political activities of the Awami League in an executive order, instead of through a court order, and termed the decision an act of revenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The volley of political cases (over 2,00,000), the arrest of over 4,00,000 people linked to the Awami League, the imprisonment of over 1,50,000 leaders and activists, including over 100 former ministers and parliamentarians, killings in mob attacks, and deaths in custody in the past year give a grim picture of the vengeful mindset of the Yunus-led government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The situation is worse as the government\u2019s advisers, including Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, NCP leaders and its top influencers, the attorney general, and the Jamaat-led International Crimes Tribunal\u2019s prosecution continue to threaten the Awami League with a complete ban and demand the capital punishment of its top leaders, including the party President and five-time Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, the exile of over 2,00,000 leaders and activists, including Sheikh Hasina, points to an uncertain future for her party. But the leadership is confident that the party will get a good number of seats if they are allowed to participate in the elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sheikh Hasina announces 21-point demands for nation-building<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Arafat: Awami League will apologise to people, not usurper Yunus<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mohammad Ali Arafat, an exiled state minister, alleges that the party’s supporters are being silenced by not being allowed to contest the next election. \u201cThe elections will not be inclusive without the participation of the Awami League,\u201d he told the BBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An article by the Atlantic Council<\/a> published last week said that extremists are emboldened, minorities are oppressed, political rivals are targeted, and the economy is wobbling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBangladesh isn\u2019t just faltering; it\u2019s performing a painful autopsy on its own revolutionary aspirations. Without a free, fair, and inclusive election\u2014soon\u2014the nation teeters not at democracy\u2019s threshold but at anarchy\u2019s precipice,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Banning the Awami League, which has won the most elections in Bangladesh\u2019s history, played a role in its founding and retains a significant voter base, risking replicating authoritarian tactics that it itself is often accused of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSuch exclusion may effectively disenfranchise a significant segment of voters, undermine electoral legitimacy, push politics back into the streets, and set a dangerous precedent where each government purges its rivals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ex-secretary: 8 advisers of Yunus government engaged in massive corruption<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n