Bangladesh’s upcoming parliamentary election is a \u201csham election\u201d with \u201cno credibility,\u201d 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 \u201cmajority parties are banned from contesting\u201d and \u201cfull participation of people\u201d is denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheikh Hasina condemns custodial killing of Ramesh Chandra Sen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sheikh Hasina: Let the voters decide Awami League\u2019s future<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A State In Crisis: Mass atrocities and the erasure of democracy under Yunus\u2019 mobocracy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The election, scheduled for February 12, has been \u201cprearranged,\u201d Momen alleged in an interview <\/a>with IANS on Friday, and is being used by the authorities to push through \u201cserious changes in the Bangladesh constitution as well as the values and principles of Bangladesh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said parties commanding around 60-70% public support, along with \u201cthe aligned 12 parties,\u201d have been prevented from taking part, leaving only a select group of parties and a select group of individuals in the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Momen questioned the purpose of holding such a vote, arguing that elections are meant to restore stability and confidence. \u201cWe are going for the election to have stability, political stability, economic recovery, and, you know, to eliminate fear and threat in the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut the election is not going to improve any of them.\u201d Instead, he warned, \u201cMy reading is it’ll bring more disaster to the country, the economy is going down, and will further go down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bangladesh\u2019s 1,675 eminent citizens demand halt to election, referendum<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 135 Bangladeshi journalists demand halt to one-sided election process<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the economic consequences are already visible, with investment drying up. \u201cThere is no new investment, both domestic as well as foreign,\u201d Momen said, adding that Bangladesh generates \u201caround 2 million new job seekers in the market\u201d annually. \u201cThey’ll be crying,\u201d he said, warning that prolonged instability would worsen prospects for the country’s young population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe is running the country technically, but actually he has abdicated his responsibility,\u201d Momen said, alleging that control has been handed to a group of mullahs, radical Islamists who are running the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lakshmipur fake seals scandal unmasks Jamaat\u2019s rigging rampage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Report: One-man NGO \u2018PASHA\u2019 granted over 10,000 election observers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result, Momen alleged, \u201cyou see so much human rights violations, so much corruption, so much atrocities,\u201d describing the current administration as \u201cthe most inefficient and ineffective administrator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turning to Washington, Momen urged the United States to take a clear public stance. \u201cOur expectation is US will not recognise this election,\u201d he said, welcoming the decision by both the United States and the United Nations not to send election observers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe United States stands for democracy, full participation of people,\u201d he said, adding that it was \u201chigh 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Momen also accused the interim authorities of fueling anti-India sentiment to deflect domestic criticism. \u201cHe (Muhammad Yunus) has started a false propaganda against India,\u201d he said, rejecting claims that earlier governments had compromised national interests. Agreements with India or other countries, he said, were always concluded \u201cfor mutual interest of both the countries,\u201d and allegations to the contrary were \u201ctotally false propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n