Bangladesh: Another election, another fait accompli

As Bangladesh is set to hold its 12th parliamentary polls on January 7, many questions are being raised on the nature of the upcoming elections. Multiparty elections returned to Bangladesh in 1991 after 15 years of military rule. The periodic elections delivered an anti-incumbency verdict after every five years, except for the last 15 years. Sheikh Hasina led her Awami League and its allies to win an overwhelming majority in Jatiya Sangsad, the national parliament of the country, in December 2008. She has held on to her position ever since.

With Sheikh Hasina as the prime minister, Bangladesh has witnessed political stability, huge infrastructural development and sustained economic growth for the better part of the past 15 years, only to stumble in the last year. It was one of the fastest-growing economies after China and India in Asia. However, recent concerns over the economy prompted Bangladesh to seek a $4.7 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund. It is now struggling with an inflation rate of 9.92 per cent, with food inflation touching nearly 13 per cent. For a nation that had a foreign reserve of $41.8 billion in June 2022, its drop to less than $23 billion a year later points to the making of a serious economic crisis. Despite the lack of liquidity in the banks, plagued by burgeoning non-performing loans, and apparent economic and fiscal mismanagement, the leaders ironically continue to focus on the rather piquant political situation.

The last two elections have seen Awami League (AL) consolidating itself while its arch-rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Khaleda Zia has remained in the margins of the electoral landscape. Given the deep mistrust that exists in the polity of Bangladesh, the BNP refused to take part in the 2014 elections because it was held with the AL continuing to be in power. To circumvent this lack of faith in the incumbent government, Bangladesh earlier had caretaker governments led by a non-political person to assist the election commission in holding free and fair polls. But it was also not beyond manipulation as was evident in 2006. In 2018, the BNP agreed to join the elections, but the polls were marred by violence and allegations of rigging and the Awami League ended up winning almost 75 per cent of the votes.

There were heightened expectations of multiparty credible democratic elections this time around. But with the AL unwilling to concede to the BNP’s demand of either bringing in the caretaker government or Sheikh Hasina stepping down and the High Court ruling that has kept the Jamaat-e-Islami out of elections, the electoral space remains dominated by the ruling party. While the AL is known for its secular credentials, in the face of rising radicalism, Hasina also had to engage with the Hefazat-e-Islam, a rather strident Islamic party. While as of now the Islamists have limited electoral appeal, their street power cannot be ignored. However, given the BNP’s alliance with Jamaat and the extreme violence perpetrated by this political group in the past, the minorities continue to repose faith in Sheikh Hasina and her stewardship.

This time around, Sheikh Hasina, through 'a superstructure of fear', has carefully crafted an impression of a multiparty election. Some new political parties, referred to as the ‘king’s parties’ by media, have been floated recently. The AL has declared an electoral alliance with the third-largest Jatiya Party and lured a handful of unknown BNP leaders into contesting the elections. It also propped up some of its leaders as independent candidates. The AL’s election campaigns focused on the party’s past achievements with the vision of a future, replete with rhetoric and emotional appeals. The BNP too, despite its sharp criticism of the government, did not offer any alternative vision for the nation. The BNP’s self-defeating decision to stay away from the elections has disappointed and rendered rudderless a large number of its supporters, who are being denied adequate political choices.

Sreeradha Datta.

Not only has the AL used government machinery to suppress the opposition parties, but it has also trampled over the human rights of those who have not been aligned with it. As January 7 comes closer, the AL looks all set to be declared the winner. Unfortunately, Bangladeshis have once again been served with a fait accompli by their political leaders. The losers once again are the common citizens.

(The writer is a professor at the O P Jindal Global University, Haryana)