{"id":6342,"date":"2026-02-14T22:34:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T16:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6342"},"modified":"2026-02-15T00:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T18:37:15","slug":"sajeeb-wazed-awami-league-will-always-be-a-factor-let-the-honeymoon-period-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6342","title":{"rendered":"Sajeeb Wazed: Awami League will always be a factor, let the honeymoon period end"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In separate interviews with BBC&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bengali\/live\/cj0drn9j1qrt?post=asset%3A5ee53811-ae67-4257-af6a-e756e35f0cfc#asset:5ee53811-ae67-4257-af6a-e756e35f0cfc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News Hour<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ndlA4aRdRqU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ITV<\/a>, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Awami League President and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, sharply criticised the election results and the political landscape in Bangladesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He highlighted the barring of the Awami League\u2014the country&#8217;s largest party\u2014and questioned the legitimacy of the vote, particularly the surprising performance of Jamaat-e-Islami and the complete wipeout of the Jatiya Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Unbelievable Wipeout For Jatiya Party<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sajeeb Wazed expressed disbelief at the Jatiya Party failing to win even a single seat despite its historical significance. \u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable that the third largest political party got zero seats,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Awami League open to talks with BNP&#039;s Tarique Rahman: Sajeeb Wazed | bdnews24\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ndlA4aRdRqU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He pointed to systemic suppression: \u201cThe largest and oldest party has been banned from the election. Progressive parties, even if not banned, were not allowed to hold meetings or rallies. Many of their leaders are in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Jamaat&#8217;s Massive Gains Raise Serious Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He questioned Jamaat-e-Islami&#8217;s surge to nearly 80 seats (68 directly, plus coalition partners), far beyond their usual 5-10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhere Jamaat usually doesn\u2019t win more than 5-10 seats, they got almost 80 seats, so this was not a competitive election,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Awami League Ready For Dialogue With All<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked if he would engage with the BNP under Tarique Rahman, he emphasised openness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6331\">Midnight Election: Sheikh Hasina postmortems unrealistic turnout claim<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6323\">Sheikh Hasina: Voting started in a festive mode the night before elections<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are ready to talk to everyone. Awami League and BNP are like the Tory and Labour parties in the UK\u2014politics cannot be imagined without these two parties,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes, everyone might be happy that an election has taken place. Let the honeymoon period end, then we\u2019ll see. But in Bangladesh\u2019s politics, Awami League will always be a factor. We have 40% votes, Jatiya Party has another 5 to 10%, so they cannot be ignored forever,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an exclusive ITV interview with Mahatir Pasha, Sajeeb Wazed addressed Tarique Rahman&#8217;s impending premiership after the BNP&#8217;s landslide victory, the barring of the Awami League, inconsistencies in political accountability, the 2024 uprising, Sheikh Hasina&#8217;s exile and death sentence, and the Awami League&#8217;s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He indicated readiness for dialogue despite rejecting the election&#8217;s legitimacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf he becomes prime minister\u2014I mean, it is a sham election\u2014but yes, if he becomes prime minister, then yes, of course, we will talk to him and deal with him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On personal involvement, he said: \u201cI have no interest in working in Bangladeshi politics whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, he stressed openness to improving relations: \u201cI am always open to it. I\u2019m not a person who\u2014I\u2019m a person who always believes in having a conversation, no matter how difficult or with whom. That is my strategy. That has always been my strategy in life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added: \u201cThe BNP is the other large party in Bangladesh. Of course, we should talk to them; I\u2019ve always said that. The BNP should never have boycotted the elections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Election A Complete Sham<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joy dismissed the February 12 vote outright. \u201c[Thursday\u2019s] election was a complete sham,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019ve had the largest party and all progressive parties barred from elections. You\u2019ve had, essentially, a stage-managed election.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6270\">Sajeeb Wazed: Yunus administration is propped up by Jamaat<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6262\">Sheikh Hasina demands inclusive election under caretaker government<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6267\">Election Affidavit: Even top leaders gave false information on income, wealth<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He argued the ban invalidated the process: \u201cHow can you call an election where one of the two major political parties in the country are banned? \u2026 You cannot call that a free and fair election in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calling it \u201cunprecedented,\u201d he said: \u201cIt\u2019s unprecedented, where a political party has been banned by a dictator from an unelected regime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He warned: \u201cThis is not going to be sustainable. This is going to lead to more instability in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When compared to Jamaat&#8217;s ban during Awami League governance, Joy rejected parallels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo, because they were banned because of a court ruling,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were banned from participating because of a court ruling from an independent group, not from the government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He explained: \u201cThe court ruled that Jamaat\u2019s constitution, which recognises Shariah law above the Constitution of Bangladesh, conflicted with our Constitution. All Jamaat had to do was change their constitution and they could run again. There was no ban from the government on them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Addressing Past Election Allegations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On rigging claims in 2014, 2018, and 2024, Sajeeb Wazed said: \u201cThat\u2019s not exactly true. The last three times, the first and the third time the opposition boycotted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the 2018 elections, when all opposition parties participated, he said: \u201cIf you look at the opinion polls leading up to the elections, the Americans did polling, and all the polls showed that our party would have a landslide majority. It was going to be a landslide for the Awami League.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He conceded: \u201cUnfortunately, the administration\u2014some people in the administration\u2014still took it upon themselves to commit irregularities. Those should have been investigated, they weren\u2019t, but overall it wouldn\u2019t have affected the result.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6250\">Why pro-regime voices are suddenly wailing over Awami League\u2019s exclusion<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6239\">Respect human rights and rule of law, Amnesty International tells Yunus<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6245\">SHSP Survey: 87% of Awami League supporters will not vote, 92% support Jatiya Party<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the 2014 elections, he said: \u201cIn the 2014 elections, there wasn\u2019t a crackdown until our opposition started arson attacks on public transportation. Hundreds of people were burned alive in buses in arson attacks by the opposition because they chose to boycott the election. Awami League never banned anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Skeptical Of International Observers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sajeeb Wazed dismissed observer assessments: \u201cYou cannot accept\u2014I mean, again, you have a limited number of foreign observers in the country who are escorted by the regime. These foreign observers are not allowed to travel freely in the country, and frankly, it\u2019s not even safe; the law and order situation is that bad. So, how much have these foreign observers really been allowed to observe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added: \u201cI will reserve my judgment until they make their statements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He compared: \u201cIf you\u2019ve banned either the Democrats or the Republicans in the US, can you in any way call that election free and fair?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Admitting Mistakes In Handling 2024 Protests<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the July\u2013August 2024 uprising, he said: \u201cYes, without a doubt. The protest started peacefully. They had a legitimate demand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He blamed communication failures: \u201cOur government completely failed to communicate this; they completely failed to sit down with the student protesters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But accused escalation: \u201cThe Islamists, the Jamaat-e-Islami and their militant wing saw this as an opportunity to overthrow the government. They started the violence, and then the protest turned violent, and again, our government mishandled it; it should have never gone that far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=6185\">Referendum: Yunus\u2019 press wing resorts to misinformation to vilify Shahdeen Malik<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5920\">Interview With AP: Sheikh Hasina denounces election as fundamentally flawed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5871\">Sheikh Hasina: BNP should unban Awami League if voted to power<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Challenging UN Death Toll Figure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the UN&#8217;s ~1,400 deaths estimate (July 15\u2013August 15, 2024), Sajeeb Wazed said: \u201cThe UN number\u2026 covers the period from the 15th of July until the 15th of August. Our government fell on the 5th of August. Yet the UN report still blames the continued killings on our government. I mean, how is that possible?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He noted: \u201cAlso included in that number are police officers. There were hundreds of police officers killed, and during the protests themselves, hundreds of our activists were killed. We take full responsibility for the several hundred that were killed. Not 1,400, because half of those were police and our party activists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery single death is regrettable. We never wanted anyone to die.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On apology, he said: \u201cMy mother apologised to them immediately, during the protests, before our government fell. We met with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He denied lethal force orders: \u201cLethal force was never authorised against protesters. My mother never ordered lethal force against anyone other than people attacking police, attacking other people. What else is a government supposed to do? It\u2019s a government\u2019s job to protect lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the leaked audio clips attributed to Sheikh Haisna, he said: \u201cYou should listen to the full recordings\u2026 what was broadcast internationally was a little snippet taken out of context. In the conversation, they\u2019re talking about militants attacking police stations. That is where lethal force was authorised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tulip Siddiq&#8217;s UK Resignation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On his cousin&#8217;s resignation, he said: \u201cShe resigned to avoid embarrassment to the British government. That is the only reason.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He claimed clearance: \u201cThe UK watchdog investigated her, they cleared her of any wrongdoings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On fairness, he added: \u201cNo, of course not. It\u2019s not fair. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5145\">UK human rights lawyers slam sentence on Sheikh Hasina, jailing of Tulip Siddiq<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5029\">Tulip Siddiq slams \u2018Kafkaesque nightmare\u2019 verdict in absentia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=3650\">Tulip Siddiq: Bangladesh authorities resorting to false documents, evidence<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dynastic Politics And Personal Ambitions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On family dominance in the party, Bangabandhu\u2019s grandson said: \u201cIs it dynastic politics because we choose to be in it, or is it because the grassroots keep voting for us in the party councils?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sajeeb Wazed, who was sentenced to five years in absentia, said: \u201cI don\u2019t live in Bangladesh. I have spent a total of seven years of my entire life in Bangladesh. I\u2019ve been settled in the US for over 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On return: \u201cOh, I will go back at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On his political ambitions, he said: \u201cNo, I\u2019ve never had political ambitions. If I had wanted to be prime minister of Bangladesh, I could have been prime minister a while back. My mother had been pushing me to run for elections\u2026 for over a decade. I\u2019ve never had a greed for power or money. I\u2019m happy just to be comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the reform initiatives in Bangladesh, he said: \u201cReform is not a one-time process\u2014reform is a continuous ongoing process. Over the last 10\u201315 years, we have had many younger leaders come up in the Awami League.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Hasina&#8217;s Exile, Death Sentence, And Future Return<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have no doubt she will return someday,\u201d he said. But currently: \u201cRight now, no. Not at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said: \u201cRight now, she is in the safest place in the world that she can be. The Indian government is providing her full security, and India has due process; the trials in Bangladesh do not anywhere near meet that standard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the ongoing trials, he said: \u201cThe trials against my family and my mother were completed in what, a month, month and a half?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He predicted: \u201cNone of this is going to last, none of this is sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On legacy, he said: \u201cThe one thing that is undeniable is that the 16 years of the Awami League&#8217;s government, you also had the best economic development in Bangladesh\u2019s history, the most infrastructure development, the most stability, you had the best law and order situation, and you had a complete stop to all terrorist activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think within a very short time, people are going to say, well, despite all her shortcomings, the Awami League was the best government we had. My mother\u2019s time is going to be remembered in history as the best economic and security and stable time in Bangladesh\u2019s history. I can guarantee you that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In separate interviews with BBC&#8217;s News Hour and ITV, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Awami League President and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, sharply criticised the election results and the&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[646,1207,123,101,42],"tags":[77,1141,46,51,913,50,1592,92,56,63,212,64],"class_list":["post-6342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-emergency","category-ict-bd","category-interview","category-politics","tag-awami-league","tag-bbc","tag-bnp","tag-election","tag-election-commission-ec","tag-interim-government","tag-itv","tag-jatiya-party-japa","tag-muhammad-yunus","tag-sheikh-hasina","tag-tulip-siddiq","tag-yunus-gang"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6345,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6342\/revisions\/6345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}