Bangladesh Ex-PM Warns Polls Risk Deepening Divide

By Staff, Agencies

Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has warned that the nation's upcoming elections will deepen the country's political crisis if the banned Awami League is excluded.

Sheikh Hasina stated in her first comments to the media since her ouster, that the interim government's moves are undemocratic and labelled her ongoing trial for crimes against humanity a “jurisprudential joke”.

In written responses to AFP, Hasina, who has been in hiding in India since her government was toppled in August 2024, spoke out against the leadership of interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus, whose administration banned the Awami League in May.

“Elections without the direct participation of all major parties, including the Awami League, cannot be credible,” she told the news outlet. “Yunus must reinstate the Awami League to give Bangladeshis the choice they deserve.”

The 78-year-old former premier fled the capital by helicopter as student-led protests overwhelmed her security forces. The United Nations estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed during the crackdown.

Hasina’s comments to AFP came as Bangladesh prepares for general elections scheduled for February 2026. She warned that holding elections without her party would “sow the seeds of future division.”

The Awami League, which ruled for 15 consecutive years before being overthrown, was banned under amended anti-terrorism laws.

“Elections are a competition of ideas,” Hasina said to AFP. “You cannot ostracize a party because you don't like their policies.”

Hasina has continued to address her supporters through social media, but her comments to AFP mark her first formal remarks since her departure from office.

Ousted PM Hasina, tried in absentia for crimes against humanity during the 2024 crackdown, faces a potential death penalty, which she rejects as politically motivated; a verdict is expected November 13.

With the Awami League banned, momentum is shifting to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP], while Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami is also gaining support.

Hasina warned that excluding her party from the democratic process would only embolden political extremism and fracture national unity.

Prosecutors presented police-verified audio suggesting Hasina ordered lethal force, which she denies as “taken out of context.”

She rejected the court, saying only an international body like the International Criminal Court [ICC] is legitimate, calling the charge that she ordered fire on crowds “bogus” while acknowledging possible chain-of-command errors.

Since her removal, the interim government’s “Operation Devil Hunt” has arrested thousands of her political allies accused of plotting to destabilize Bangladesh.

Hasina gave no comment on the fate of hundreds reported to have disappeared into secret detention facilities during her administration.

Earlier this month, Awami League lawyers urged the ICC to probe alleged retaliatory violence against their supporters, citing likely domestic inaction.

When Hasina was asked whether she intends to return to politics, she remained vague, stating, “My priority is the welfare and stability of Bangladesh.”