Exiled former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in a statement to ANI on December 21, 2025, described the elections without her Awami League as “not an election, but a coronation”. He accused interim leader Muhammad Yunus of ruling “without a single vote” while trying to ban a party that has been elected nine times by popular mandate.
Hasina warned that banning the Awami League would deprive millions of people of the right to vote, as when supporters are deprived of their preferred choice, they historically boycott, leading to a government that lacks moral authority. He blamed Yunus’s administration for the growing lawlessness, and cited the recent assassination of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi (shot on 12 December, died in Singapore on 18 December), which sparked violence across the country, including attacks on media houses, cultural sites and minority communities.
Bangladesh’s parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held on **February 12, 2026**, the first since Hasina was ousted amid student-led protests in August 2024. There will be a simultaneous referendum on the “July Charter” – which proposes reforms such as curbing executive powers and increasing judicial independence.
The Awami League is banned under anti-terrorism laws pending trial, effectively barring participation. The main contenders include the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami and the student-formed National Citizens Party (NCP). The Awami League has rejected the elections as partisan.
Hasina linked the instability to strained relations with India, noting that lawlessness and atrocities on minorities undermine regional credibility.
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