in Bangladesh, legislative elections without surprise against a backdrop of repression of opponents

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina must be re-elected for a fourth consecutive term on Sunday, during legislative elections marked by an increasingly worrying climate of violence.

Voters in Bangladesh were called to renew their Parliament on Sunday January 7. A vote without suspense, because the main opposition party is boycotting this election. He considers that the ruling party, which has all the civil servants under its command, can manipulate the vote. Ahead of the campaign, thousands of opposition supporters were arrested. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is therefore preparing to win a fourth consecutive term in an environment of increasingly worrying repression.

On October 28, the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), organized a giant demonstration in Dhaka, the country’s capital. But it quickly degenerated into violence. “Our supporters were demonstrating calmly, and suddenly the police attacked them with tear gas and stun grenadessays Rumeen Farhana, deputy secretary of international relations of the BNP. The government created this violence and blames us for putting our supporters in prison.”

In the days that followed, around 10,000 BNP members were arrested for vandalism and murder, including the party’s general secretary. However, some accused, like Rumeen Farhana, claim not to have participated in the demonstration. The BNP is thus decapitated, but the ruling party, the Awami League, refutes any political persecution. “Their demonstration aimed to prevent the electionssays Biplab Barua, a party spokesperson. And for this, the vandals and BNP executives committed terrible violence, and killed a police officer by smashing his helmet on his head. We must maintain order and suppress these criminal acts.”

Criticism less and less accepted

The BNP has therefore decided to boycott Sunday’s vote, which deprives voters of a real choice. And these arrests send a signal that criticism is less and less accepted. In the streets, no one wants to talk openly about this repression. Sixty-year-old Mohammed Enamul prefers to use a sporting metaphor to describe this election: “In a match, you need two teams to play. If you remove one team, there is no more match.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in power for 15 years, is now guaranteed to win another five-year term. A generation of Bangladeshis has thus far only known her at the head of the country.