By Enayet Kabir
At an Ansar force camp in Tangail, north of Dhaka, 350 members of this auxiliary unit cast their votes in two separate postal ballots (one for the referendum and the other for the general election) a few days ago. However, they were unable to scan and send the ballots to the Election Commission. They sought help from a camp official. Requesting anonymity, that official said he was “astonished to see that almost everyone had marked ‘Yes’ and in favour of the ‘Scales’ (the Jamaat-e-Islami’s electoral symbol).”
In Dhaka, BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas recently expressed suspicion that “there is a move to help specific candidates from a particular party win from their seats.” His statement clearly hinted that leading candidates from Jamaat and the NCP would win.
Globally, “democratic” elections are held through a secret ballot. However, in Bangladesh’s February 12 general election and referendum, conducted by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and supported by Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman, voter “privacy” is non-existent.
The electoral system, based on National ID cards, has been designed in a way that voter identity and ballot secrecy have been thrown to the winds. In other words, the interim government would monitor who voted “Yes” and who voted “No”. This has caused sufficient concern among large sections of voters.
With just two days before Bangladesh goes to the hustings, almost all the political parties — anti-Liberation Jamaat-e-Islami, BNP, NCP, Islami Andolan — whose raison d’etre has all along been trenchant opposition to India, have stopped spewing venomous anti-India slogans.
Two other characteristic features define the political behaviour of these political parties: the Islamic outfits, ideologically opposed to music, are using songs in their electoral campaigns. Secondly, the BNP and the Jamaat are tactfully applying “pressure” to attract votes on an anti-Awami League platform.
The Bangladeshi media is attempting to establish a narrative surrounding the “Referendum and Election” that the war criminal Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP are “begging and pleading,” speaking pleasingly, and providing assurances of security to win over the voters of the “election-ineligible Awami League.”
But the reality is entirely different. No matter how much the media suggests that the BNP and the Jamaat are trying to pull “Awami supporters” and the Hindu community with flattery, these voters are under extreme pressure. The Hindus who are unwilling to go to the polling stations will be forced to go; if they don’t, their lives will be at stake.
The bulk of Awami League workers have fled their homes. Those who haven’t—and the supporters who aren’t direct activists but always vote for the “Boat” symbol—are under constant life threat. The press and social media are trying to influence “public sentiments,” but those “Awami League” supporters who have land, assets and investments in the country are at the highest risk.
Hindu families with adolescent and young daughters are at even greater risk. This is indicated by the numerous complaints from Hindu-dominated areas in Kishoreganj, Bagerhat, Dinajpur, Kurigram and Khulna. Both BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have identified Awami-supporting and Hindu families and marked their homes; if for any reason they do not go to vote, their “life risk” is certain.
There is still no guarantee that the “election” will even take place. However, an 11-member Commonwealth observer team, led by former Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, met with a section of the Jatiya Party to observe the election. The Jatiya Party representatives complained that there is “no neutrality” in the election. This team also spoke with three leaders of the election-ineligible Awami League: Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Selim Mahmud, and Jahanara Arju. Joy informed them that a political party cannot be banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The Commonwealth team expressed agreement on this matter.
On February 7, the Centre for Policy Dialogue said at a seminar that the Awami League’s exclusion will not lend acceptability to the election. On May 12, 2025, the interim regime officially declared all political activities of the Bangladesh Awami League banned via an executive order. The CPD knows this. The question is: why, just four days before the election, did the CPD raise this question now?
A section of the razakar-military-NGO ruling class is suddenly feeling insecure. Perhaps they are realising that the time has come to account for all the crimes they have committed over the last year and a half. A section of the ruling class does not believe they can handle the “public discontent” that will arise from the “fixed” election in which the country’s primary party is declared “ineligible” and kept out.
For this reason, a section of top officials is submitting their diplomatic passports, ahead of their likely departure from the country with ordinary passports. Surprisingly, this list includes nine advisors, several political leaders, supporters at various levels of government, and even the police chief.
Perhaps they are apprehensive of the days and weeks to come. The strike called by the Chittagong Port workers and employees on January 31 turned into an indefinite cease work from February 4. They suspended the strike on February 5 following assurances from Shipping Adviser Brig (retd) Sakhawat Hossain.
However, within hours, when a ban on leaving the country was imposed on 15 labour leaders and a letter was sent to the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate their assets, the protesters called for a new strike. On February 8, the Chattogram Port Protection Sangram Parishad and the Sramik-Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP) again called for an indefinite shutdown of the port.
However, the situation could become “incendiary” over three issues:
• The movement against leasing the Chittagong Port could intensify, rendering the port completely dysfunctional.
• The movement for the implementation of the pay scale for government officials could take a turn for the worse. Secretariat officials, employees and other service institutions may join this movement. The secretariat could be shut down.
• The Inqilab Mancha might resort to violent means.
Undoubtedly, Yunus is becoming isolated both at home and abroad.
But even in this turbulent situation, the Awami League has not called upon its leaders and activists to foil the election. Furthermore, to defeat the BNP candidate Jilani in Tungipara, Sheikh Hasina’s workers may vote for the Jamaat-e-Islami supporter Govinda Pramanik. Therefore, the Awami League’s political position is still not clear.
While testifying at the International Crimes Tribunal controlled by the Jamaat-e-Islami, former Army chief Gen (retd) Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan said, “After the BDR mutiny, hatred towards India and the Awami League increased sharply among Army officers. A division appeared between senior and junior officers. Professional officers were pushed aside, and loyalist officers were promoted. By engaging army officers in various national projects, the force was made corrupt. The big reason for this was that Sheikh Hasina thought a corrupt army was safe for her”. He did not, however, utter a word regarding corruption of the current military leadership.
What is the source of the interim regime’s power over conducting the election? The military leadership under Gen Zaman is the regime’s “vanguard”. In a speech on August 5, 2024, he had sworn to “take responsibility for the people of the country” and wanted the people to have faith in him. But Gen Zaman broke this solemn promise and has shielded Yunus’ interim regime. There is no doubt that the interim regime’s bulwark is the “military-civilian mafia group”.
In an era of crony capitalism, the mafia has been known across other countries to control parliamentarians, ministers, prime ministers, and even presidents. But in the case of Bangladesh, a corrupt military is safe for neither the state nor the nation.
(The writer is a political and economic analyst)
