New Delhi: Amid the 13th parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has raised serious questions about the election process, calling it fraudulent, illegal, and unconstitutional. Sheikh Hasina thanked the country’s people, especially women, minority communities, and supporters, for boycotting the elections and accused interim government head Mohammad Yunus of undermining the democratic system.
Bangladeshi citizens voted on Thursday in a crucial general election to elect a new government. The election was held to replace the interim administration that assumed power after the collapse of the Awami League government in August 2024. Voting for the 13th parliamentary election took place from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in 299 of the country’s 300 constituencies.
The election for one parliamentary seat was cancelled due to the death of a candidate. The vote also coincided with a referendum on an 84-point reform package. The election is primarily seen as a direct contest between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its former ally, the Jamaat-e-Islami. Meanwhile, the Awami League was dissolved last year by the interim government of Mohammad Yunus and barred from contesting the elections.
“Yunus seized power illegally.”
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hasina issued a statement saying that Yunus seized power illegally and unconstitutionally, and that the election held under his leadership disregarded the people’s voting rights and democratic values. She alleged that the election was a pre-planned fraud, excluding the Awami League and other voters.
Sheikh Hasina claimed that incidents such as the capture of polling stations, firing, the use of money to buy votes, the forced stamping of ballot papers, and the signing of result sheets by agents began as early as the evening of February 11. She said that on the morning of February 12, voter turnout across the country was extremely low, and many polling stations were completely empty.
Citing Election Commission data ,
she said that only 14.96 percent voter turnout had been recorded by 11 a.m., proving that the public boycotted the elections in the absence of the Awami League. Sheikh Hasina also alleged that there were incidents of intimidation, arrests, and attacks on Awami League supporters, voters, and minority communities. Despite this, the people ignored the fear and pressure and rejected the elections.
The former prime minister also claimed that the number of voters in the electoral rolls, especially in Dhaka, had been abnormally inflated, which was suspicious. In her statement, Sheikh Hasina demanded that the election be cancelled, Muhammad Yunus resign, all political prisoners, teachers, journalists, and professionals be released, the ban on the Awami League be lifted, and a re-election be held under a neutral caretaker government to ensure fair and free elections.
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