A group of US lawmakers has raised concerns over the blanket ban on Bangladesh’s Awami League ahead of elections scheduled for early next year, saying the Bangladeshi people must be allowed to choose their government through free and fair polls.
In a letter sent on Tuesday to Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, Mohammed Yunus, the lawmakers urged him to ensure inclusive elections. The letter was signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, Chairman of the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia Bill Huizenga, Ranking Member of the same subcommittee Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and Congresswoman Julie Johnson. Representative Tom Suozzi was also a co-signatory.
The lawmakers said it was vital for the interim government to engage with political parties across the spectrum to create conditions for credible elections that allow the Bangladeshi people to peacefully express their will through the ballot. They also called for reforms to restore public confidence in the integrity and non-partisanship of state institutions.
“We are concerned that this cannot happen if the government suspends the activities of political parties or restarts the flawed International Crimes Tribunal,” the letter said.
They noted that the US State Department and several international observers have previously assessed Bangladesh’s 2018 and 2024 general elections as neither free nor fair.
Referring to a February fact-finding report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the lawmakers said security forces were estimated to have killed around 1,400 people during protests in July and August last year.
“Genuine accountability for these acts and others should reflect the values of Bangladesh’s democracy rather than perpetuate a cycle of retaliation,” the lawmakers said, stressing that freedom of association and the principle of individual, not collective, criminal responsibility are fundamental human rights.
They added that suspending the activities of an entire political party, instead of prosecuting individuals accused of crimes or serious human rights violations through due process, was inconsistent with those principles. The lawmakers expressed hope that the Yunus administration, or a future elected government, would reconsider the decision.
“Ultimately, the Bangladeshi people deserve to be able to choose an elected government in a free and fair election in which all political parties can participate and be represented,” the letter said.
Bangladesh recently banned all activities of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League under a revised anti-terrorism law. The party and its affiliated organisations were prohibited under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2025 until the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) completes trials against its leaders and activists.
Hasina’s government was toppled on August 5, 2024, following violent student-led protests known as the ‘July Uprising’. Yunus’ interim administration later disbanded the Awami League through an executive order, barring it from contesting elections scheduled for February 12, 2026.
Last month, Bangladesh’s domestic International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia after convicting her of crimes against humanity related to the crackdown on protesters. The US lawmakers’ letter, however, voiced concern over the resumption of what it described as a “flawed” tribunal alongside the suspension of political party activities.
With the Awami League largely absent from the political landscape, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia, has emerged as the frontrunner, with Jamaat-e-Islami, once a key Awami League ally, now seen as its main rival.
ALSO READ: BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman to get Special Security Force cover after landing in Dhaka
Most Awami League leaders are either in hiding at home or abroad or in jail, as the interim government has launched a nationwide manhunt, with many cases filed against them, largely by BNP leaders.
