The highly touted unity of different political parties in Bangladesh that helped to depose the democratically elected Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024 seems to be slowly dissipating.
The violent revolt that resulted in the removal of the Awami League witnessed various political forces coming together, which resulted in the establishment of an interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus.
But with Bangladesh still facing mounting crises in the last seven months, various political leaders who had initially supported Yunus are now openly rebuking him—especially regarding the delay in holding national elections.
Complaining of frustration with the present government, top leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have charged that the caretaker government has refused to show any serious commitment towards electoral reforms. Rather, say they, it is working only in the interests of the brand-new National Citizen Party, an outfit political which is student-dominated, as a report by Barta24 relates.
BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi emphasized that if the Election Commission performs its duties properly, general elections may be held by June or July 2025, instead of being postponed until December.
"If the election process is delayed, the people will start questioning the legitimacy of this interim government," Rizvi said at a meeting in Dhaka on Friday.
"We think that the caretaker government is a caretaker government in reality. So, it must be able to hold a fair election. Any sort of delay in the election process is unacceptable," he added further.
In the meantime, Nahid Islam, the student activist who was instrumental in the anti-Hasina movement and went on to form the National Citizen Party, recently admitted that the caretaker government has been finding it difficult to ensure public security. He opined that holding a general election within the year would be extremely difficult.
Echoing the political uncertainties, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar renewed his party's call last month for local government elections to take place before the national polls.
Meanwhile, the BNP has warned the interim government, threatening to "take stronger steps" if there is any attempt to play foul with the national elections. The party claimed that any effort to postpone the polls on the grounds of reforms would unleash violent protests.
In the midst of such increasing polarizations between Bangladesh's primary political actors, the nation's Election Commission recently announced that local elections prior to national elections would not be possible.
"We are also monitoring the law and order situation. We all know the morale of law enforcers has been low since August 5. It would not be wise to conduct local elections when police morale is still low," Daily Star, a top Bangladeshi newspaper, quoted an election commissioner as saying.
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