The ousted prime minister said his exclusion from Awami League membership had “deepened his resentment” against the interim government of Muhammad Yunus.
Bangladesh’s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina has condemned the country’s general elections next month after her party was barred from participating in polls, raising fears of widening political divisions and potential chaos.
“A government born of exclusion cannot unite a divided nation,” Hasina said in a message published Thursday by The Associated Press.
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Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia for suppressing the 2024 student riots that killed hundreds and led to the collapse of her 15-year government, has stepped up her criticism of the interim government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus in recent days as elections looming that will shape the country’s next chapter.
“Every time a large segment of the population is denied political participation, it deepens resentment, undermines the legitimacy of the system, and creates future instability,” the former leader in exile in India warned in an email.
She also claimed that Bangladesh’s current government deliberately disenfranchised millions of its supporters by excluding her party, the former government’s Awami League, from elections.
More than 127 million people in Bangladesh are eligible to vote in the Feb. 12 election, widely considered to be the country’s most consequential election in decades and the first since Ms. Hasina was ousted from power following large-scale riots.
The Yunus government is overseeing this process, and voters are also considering a constitutional referendum on fundamental political reforms.
The election campaign began last week, with rallies held in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere.
Yunus returned to Bangladesh and took over on August 5, 2024, three days after Hasina fled to India after weeks of violent uprisings.
He has promised free and fair elections, but critics question whether the process meets democratic standards and whether it will be truly inclusive after Hasina’s banning of Awami League.
There are also concerns about security and uncertainty surrounding the referendum, which could bring about major changes to the constitution.
Yunus’ office said in a statement to The Associated Press that security forces will ensure orderly elections and will not allow anyone to influence the results through coercion or violence. The statement added that international observers and human rights organizations were invited to monitor the process.
Tarique Rahman, the son of former prime minister and Hasina’s rival Khaleda Zia, returned to Bangladesh after his mother died in December.
Rahman, acting leader of Khaleda’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is a strong candidate to win the upcoming elections.
On Friday, Hasina gave her first public speech since her ouster, telling a packed press club in Delhi that Bangladesh “will never experience free and fair elections” under Yunus’ watch.
Her remarks on Friday were broadcast online and livestreamed to more than 100,000 supporters.
The statement was criticized by Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, which issued a statement saying it was “surprised” and “shocked” that India had allowed her to speak publicly.
Bangladesh has asked India to extradite Hasina, but New Delhi has not yet commented on the request.
India’s past support for Hasina has soured relations with its South Asian neighbors since her overthrow.
