Dhaka, Feb 12: Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has strongly denounced Bangladesh’s 13th Parliamentary elections held on Thursday, terming them “farcical” and thanking citizens — including women and minority communities — for rejecting the polls.
In a statement posted on the Awami League’s social media platform X, Hasina accused the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus of illegally and unconstitutionally orchestrating a “well-planned farce.” She alleged that the elections completely disregarded citizens’ voting rights, democratic values, and the Constitution, describing the polls as “deceptive” and “voterless,” conducted without participation from the Awami League.
According to Hasina, from the evening of February 11, the farce began with the seizure of polling centres, incidents of gunfire, vote-buying, money distribution, stamping of ballots, and agents signing result sheets. By the morning of February 12, she claimed, voter turnout was negligible at most polling centres nationwide, with many centres in Dhaka and other regions reporting no voters at all. The Election Commission, she noted, reported only 14.96 percent voter participation by 11 am, just three and a half hours into polling, reflecting widespread rejection of an Awami League-free election.
Hasina also highlighted that in the run-up to the elections, Awami League voters, supporters, and minority communities faced attacks, arrests, intimidation, and harassment, which hindered participation. She pointed to suspicious abnormalities in voter lists, particularly in Dhaka, raising further doubts about the election’s credibility.
The Awami League has called for the cancellation of what it termed a “voter-less, illegal, and unconstitutional” election, the resignation of Yunus, the release of all political prisoners including teachers, journalists, and intellectuals, and the withdrawal of false cases. The party demanded the revocation of restrictions on its activities and the holding of free, fair, and inclusive elections under a neutral caretaker government to restore the people’s democratic rights.
