The general election will be held in Bangladesh on December 30, 2018. The ruling party Awami League (AL) led by PM Sheikh Hasina Wajed has a clear advantage. But, it will not be as easy as they think. Over the years, the AL has lost its popularity. The government is criticised for its authoritarian attitude. The human rights of people are violated in a big way. The election is equally important for India in many ways. India has traditionally excellent relations with the AL. India’s concern is primarily security related. The thinking in Delhi is it is easy to deal with AL than the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by former PM Begum Khaleda Zia.
The politics in Bangladesh, primarily, moves around two women viz. Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. The court has debarred Khaleda Zia from contesting the elections. The absence of Khaleda Zia would also affect them badly. She has been sentenced to prison in two corruption cases and has been in custody since February 8 when Dhaka Special Court convicted her in a graft case and sentenced her to five year imprisonment for embezzlement. On October 30, the High Court doubled the sentence to 10 years. As per the Bangladesh constitution, those who are sentenced to imprisonment for two or more years cannot contest elections unless five years have elapsed since his/her release.
The BNP has formed Jatiya Oikya Front (JOF) consisting of 18 opposition political parties. Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rehman is in self-imposed exile in London. Khaleda’s policies are more right wing and openly take help of parties like banned Jamat-e-Islami and other pro-Islamic groups. The BNP was formed in 1978 by Bangladesh’s first military ruler General Zia-ul-Rehman. The party is known for India bashing ever since its inception, while AL is considered pro-India and played the significant role in the liberation of Bangladesh. AL is truly a political party with cadre and mass base. It is a secular and democratic party. But, for some time, the party is compromising its basic values by compromising with radicals.
The BNP boycotted the last general elections held in January 2014 demanding a care taker government should be formed to conduct the elections. As BNP boycotted last general elections, 153 candidates of AL got elected unopposed out of total 300. The Jatiyo Sansad (parliament) has total strength of 350. Fifty seats are reserved for women. They are sent to Jatiyo Sansad on the basis of each party’s strength.
Surprisingly, the JOF is led by Kamal Hossain, a veteran lawyer, human rights activist and former foreign minister. He was imprisoned in West Pakistan with Sheikh Mujibur Rehman during the Bangladesh Liberation War. A true democrat and a secular leader heading JOF, whose major constituent is BNP, has shocked many globally. At the same time, it also indicates how unpopular and anti-democratic government led by Sheikh Hasina is. AL was founded in 1949 what was then East Pakistan. Various left parties are also contesting elections under the banner of Left Democratic Alliance (LDA) but their influence is confined to certain pockets.
Sheikh Hasina is appealing to voters to cast their votes on the development issue. During her term, the economy expanded and attracted huge foreign investment. It also achieved significant in human development. Life expectancy is now 73 years and literacy rate among women is 94 per cent. The growth rate continues to remain around 7.50 per cent. Bangladesh is one of the biggest exporters as far textile is concerned.
On the issue of media freedom, Sheikh Hasina government’s record is poor. Internationally known photojournalist Shahidul Alam was arrested and was released on bail after he spent 100 days in jail. Sizeable numbers of secular bloggers were killed in last few years. In September, government enacted controversial Digital Security Act. Media groups believe that it will cripple press freedom and curb free speech. Even European diplomats in Bangladesh criticised the act. The JOF and LDA are saying that they will withdraw the act, if elected.
China has also huge interest in Bangladesh elections. Bangladesh is part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. Sheikh Hasina has kept good relations with both India and China. This election is important for Bangladesh and South Asia as it will define in which direction the country will move.
