Bangladesh Elections: Why India’s Call For ‘Free And Fair’ Polls Faces A Tough Reality | EXPLAINED

With elections weeks away, India has urged Bangladesh to ensure free and inclusive polls, but years of disputed elections, party bans, and political upheaval have cast serious doubts over credibility. The return of Tarique Rahman and the exclusion of the Awami League have reshaped the contest amid rising concerns.

With barely two months left for Bangladesh’s general election, India has stressed the importance of holding credible and inclusive polls, even as questions grow over whether such an exercise is possible under current conditions.

“We stand for free, fair, inclusive and participatory elections in Bangladesh, which is to be held in a peaceful atmosphere,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly briefing in Delhi on Friday.

However, Bangladesh’s recent electoral history suggests that genuinely free and fair elections have been elusive for over a decade. The last polls widely regarded as credible were held in 2008.

In that election, Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured 32.5 per cent of the vote, while its ally Jamaat-e-Islami received 4.28 per cent. Other parties in the BNP-led bloc together accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the electorate.

Since then, participation has steadily declined. The 2014 election was boycotted by the BNP after the Sheikh Hasina government refused to hold polls under a neutral caretaker administration, a system followed since 1996 to ensure fairness.

In 2018, the BNP returned to the electoral process, but Khaleda Zia was unable to contest as she had been jailed in corruption cases shortly before the vote. The 2024 election followed a similar pattern, with Khaleda Zia again absent, paving the way for Sheikh Hasina to retain power amid low voter turnout. Nearly 40 per cent of eligible voters were effectively left out of the process.

The political landscape has shifted sharply since then. Sheikh Hasina was ousted last year and is now living in exile, while she faces the possibility of a death sentence over allegations linked to the violent suppression of a student uprising in July.

At the same time, Khaleda Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, has returned to Bangladesh after 17 years abroad. Over the past 18 months, multiple cases against both him and his mother have been dropped.

Ahead of his return, Tarique Rahman avoided questions about the absence of the Awami League from the upcoming election in an interview with the Financial Times. He said those convicted in corruption cases were barred from contesting polls.

Under interim leader Muhammad Yunus, the Awami League has been banned from participating in the election. Opinion surveys now indicate the BNP is well placed to emerge as the largest party.

Both Yunus and Rahman have described the Awami League as a “fascist” organisation, reflecting the long-standing rivalry between the BNP leadership and Sheikh Hasina.

Rahman has also indicated openness to working with the National Citizen Party (NCP), a student-led group that played a central role in protests against Hasina’s government. Yet the NCP itself appears uncertain about the electoral process.

“The electoral culture in Bangladesh is not really pleasant for us,” NCP founder Nahid Islam told the Financial Times.

Concerns have also been raised by other political players. Jatiya Party (Ershad) chief GM Quader wrote recently that the current administration “is not neutral and does not intend to hold free, fair and impartial elections”, adding that its ability to do so was also in doubt.

According to Quader, the only solution is the return of a neutral caretaker government involving all political parties.

Adding to the unease, the Election Commission has sought additional police protection for its senior officials and offices across the country. The commission’s recent exclusion of the Awami League, the Jatiya Party and their allies from an all-party dialogue has further fuelled doubts about inclusivity.

As Bangladesh heads towards another crucial vote, India’s call for free and fair elections stands in contrast to the growing concerns on the ground about whether such conditions can truly be met.