New Delhi: Bangladesh’s political crisis has intensified amid sharp divisions among parties over the timing of a proposed referendum, deepening uncertainty ahead of next year’s elections.
Interim administration chief Muhammad Yunus announced that national elections would take place in February, but the Awami League, led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been barred from contesting.
While the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has demanded that the national elections be prioritized, Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizens Party insist that the referendum be held first — preferably in November.
In an interview with a foreign media outlet, the deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condemned the ban on her party as “unjust and self-defeating.” She asserted that she would not return to Bangladesh under any government that excludes the Awami League from national decision-making. “We are not asking voters to support other parties,” she said.
The BNP has rejected any pre-election referendum, whereas Jamaat-e-Islami and seven other political groups have urged the Election Commission to promptly announce the referendum date.
The deepening rift among political parties comes at a critical time, with national polls just four months away. Despite repeated appeals for dialogue and unity, consensus remains elusive.
At a conference in Dumuria, Khulna, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General and former MP Mia Golam Parwar reiterated that the July Charter’s implementation should be followed by a national referendum in November, paving the way for parliamentary elections in February.
Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir urged all parties to uphold national unity, accusing Jamaat-e-Islami of “misleading people by opposing the spirit of the Liberation War.”
“You opposed the Liberation War in 1971 — please don’t oppose the people’s right to an election now,” Fakhrul said at a press conference in Dhaka.
He warned that those acting against the will of the people would face rejection. “The people of this country never forgive betrayal. Step away from that path. Join the election and let the people’s mandate be restored through their votes — that’s all we seek,” he declared.
