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Bangladesh’s election commission has suspended the registration of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s party, effectively blocking the Awami League from contesting polls.
The move comes days after the interim government of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus banned all activities of the former ruling party, citing national security threats and a war crimes investigation into hundreds of deaths during the agitation that toppled Ms Hasina last year.
The former prime minister, who fled to neighbouring India after her rule collapsed, remains in exile. She is wanted in over 100 cases related to the killings of the protesters.
“With the home ministry’s ban on all activities of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations, the election commission has decided to suspend the party’s registration,” the federal body’s secretary, Akhtar Ahmed, announced on Monday.
Asif Nazrul, law affairs adviser to the interim administration, said earlier on Saturday they had decided to ban Awami League’s activities online and elsewhere under the antiterrorism law.
“This decision is aimed at ensuring national security and sovereignty, protection of activists of the July movement and plaintiffs and witnesses involved in the tribunal proceedings,” he said.
The Awami League, which ruled Bangladesh for over 20 years until Ms Hasina’s ouster, is now barred from contesting elections.
This means there’s now a comprehensive ban on all forms of activities of the Awami League and its affiliates, including publications, media appearances, online and social media campaigns, processions, meetings, rallies, and conferences.
The restrictions will stay in place until the International Crimes Tribunal concludes ongoing proceedings against the party’s leaders and activists.
After her ouster, Ms Hasina and several top Awami League leaders were charged with murder.
The dramatic decision to ban the Awami League followed mass protests in the capital Dhaka on Saturday where thousands of people, including backers of a political party formed by students who led last year’s agitation, issued an ultimatum to the interim rulers to outlaw Ms Hasina’s party by that night.
On Monday, the interim rulers said the ban on Awami League’s activities did not infringe upon the freedom of expression of any individual or political entity, according to the Dhaka Tribune.
In February, the UN human rights office estimated that as many as 1,400 people could have been killed during the agitation that toppled her government.
Another former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, returned to Bangladesh earlier this month after nearly four months of medical treatment in London, intensifying calls for the interim government to announce elections. Ms Zia had been jailed for several years during her rival’s rule.
Mr Yunus has hinted that elections may be delayed until 2026. Speaking in a national broadcast last December to mark the 53rd anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence, Mr Yunus said “election dates could be fixed by the end of 2025 or the first half of 2026”.
Pressure has been mounting on Mr Yunus to set an election date for the country of nearly 170 million people. The interim leader has earlier called the task of restoring democracy in the country “extremely tough”.
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