Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, secured re-election for a fifth term amid a controversial electoral process. She has been at the helm of Bangladesh’s political landscape since her return to power in 2009. Her latest triumph is not surprising given that it has been achieved through the suppression of the opposition.
There is no denying that during her tenure, Bangladesh has witnessed breakneck economic growth. Around 50 million Bangladeshis were lifted into the middle-income group and the country’s exports hover around sixty to seventy billion dollars. However, the economic success story is marred by widespread human rights abuses and a relentless crackdown on the opposition. Whilst not forgetting the past events, Hasina-led government has executed several leaders of Jamaat-e-Islamic over war crimes in connivance with the judiciary. The hangings are in sheer violation of a 1974 agreement between Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Then, other opposition leaders are also not safe in the country. Khalid Zia, leader of the Bangladesh National Party, has over the years, only faced imprisonment on trumped-up charges. Teachers, writers, intellectuals and journalists highlighting fascism have no space but are harassed. This pattern of silencing political opponents raises questions about the state of democracy and political freedoms in Bangladesh. The current election were also not an exception where the opposition was totally cornered. Sheikh Hasina’s party faced almost no effective rivals in the seats it contested but it avoided fielding candidates in a few constituencies, in an apparent effort to avoid the legislature being called a one-party institution. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition party, boycotted the polls, calling it a sham election. The BNP and other parties staged months of protests last year, demanding Hasina step down ahead of the vote. Officers in the port city of Chittagong broke up an opposition protest Sunday, firing shotguns and tear gas canisters. The international community should not turn a blind eye towards this deteriorating human rights situation in Bangladesh. Calls for accountability and a forward-looking approach to address these issues have been echoed by various countries. Violations, including extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrests, demand global attention and intervention.
