Bangladesh: ousted PM Hasina’s party barred from election

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s election commission has suspended the registration of the Awami League, the political party of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, barring its participation in future parliamentary polls.

The move comes after the interim government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus banned the Awami League on Sunday pending the outcome of a trial over its crackdown on mass protests that prompted Hasina’s ouster last year.

The Awami League is the oldest political party in Bangladesh and led the country’s liberation war in 1971.

According to the United Nations, up to 1,400 protesters died in July-August 2024 when Hasina’s government launched a brutal campaign to silence the opposition.

Bangladesh bans activities of ousted PM Hasina’s party following protests

Hasina, 77, remains in self-imposed exile in India and has defied an arrest warrant from Dhaka over charges of crimes against humanity.

Akhter Ahmed, senior secretary of the Bangladesh Election Commission, said they had suspended the registration of the Awami League based on a recommendation from the home ministry.

“The home ministry has imposed a ban on all sorts of organisational activities of the Bangladesh Awami League and the organisations aligned with it,” he told reporters late Monday.

“In continuation of that decision, the election commission has decided to suspend the AL’s registration with the commission.”

Yunus, 84, has said parliamentary elections will be held as early as December, and by June 2026 at the latest.

The election commission also issued a directive prohibiting the party and its affiliates from conducting any political activity, including rallies and conferences, until the International Crimes Tribunal completes its proceedings.

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In Bangladesh, political parties must be registered with the election commission to engage in political activities, including participating in elections.

It is the third time the AL has been banned.

The first came in 1971 under Pakistani military ruler Yahya Khan and the second was in 1975 under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman when he initiated a one-party government in Bangladesh.