Bangladesh elections cannot be free and fair in absence of Awami League: Former Foreign minister

Elections scheduled for February 12 in Bangladesh will not be free and fair in the absence of the country’s oldest political party, the Awami League, according to its senior leaders.

Former Foreign Minister of the Awami League government, Hasan Mahmud, said that not including the Awami League, which led Bangladesh’s independence movement in 1971, in the elections will not lead to stability in the country.

Mahmud met a select group of media here on Saturday evening and stated that Awami League and India have historically had good relations.

Mahmud said that rejecting the party that waged Bangladesh’s war of independence and ruled the country for several terms would mean that the election would be nothing but a planned election, and that stability would not come to Bangladesh from such a process.

Answering questions about establishing a government in exile, Mahmud said, “We will return to Bangladesh when Sheikh Hasina directs us to establish a government.”

In an undemocratic move, the Yunus-led regime banned the Awami League and banned it from participating in the elections.
He also expressed doubts about whether the elections will be held on February 12 as promised by the Bangladesh Election Commission. The Awami League leader stated that the party has launched a global campaign against the atrocities of the interim regime in Dhaka targeting minorities. Mahmud also accused the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights of preparing a biased, one-sided and fabricated report on the violations during the Sheikh Hasina regime during the student-led uprisings in the country in July and August 2024.

The former Foreign Minister said a formal objection would be made to the UN Secretary-General and relevant UN bodies against the OHCHR report and its authors, accusing the Commission of promoting a narrative that favors oppression rather than the oppressed.

Also addressing the media, Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury Nowfel, former Bangladesh Education Minister in the Hasina government, said, “We have gathered to present to you a report prepared by an organization on a one-sided, hastily prepared UN report without any concrete evidence on our part – without any witness statements or testimony of the accused.”

He also stated that Awami League leaders were not officially informed while the UN report was being prepared.

As many as eight Hindus have been killed in Bangladesh in the last two weeks. The Awami League is preparing a comprehensive report on the killings and atrocities since the August 2024 rebellion and intends to submit the findings to OHCHR, the European Union and the Commonwealth Secretariat for independent verification or action.