According to the Bangladeshi media outlet BD Today of September 18, 2023, the ruling authority is preparing to form an election-time government soon with members from its present and past cabinets or perhaps from outside. Only the loyal elements of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be part of it, –a “rebranding” of the old product.
(Please see: বিডিটুডে.নেট:আলোচনায় নির্বাচনকালীন মন্ত্রিসভা, কারা থাকবেন কারা বাদ পড়বেন? (newsbybd.net)
The past three national elections in 2008, 2014 and 2018 were farcical and completely rigged. In the last two, which the Sheikh Hasina administration managed, the opposition was either absent or forcibly eclipsed, giving Hasina’s party the Awami League an almost 100% victory.
As such, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led opposition is demanding the election under a non-partisan, neutral Caretaker Government (CTG). It further threatened that it would not participate in any election under the ruling Awami League, which proved to be incapable of holding a credible elections in the past.
However, the ruling authorities seem determined to hold the next election under their own management, citing constitutional provisions that it mischievously installed in 2011 with a view to corrupting the electoral process, and now seeking to secure a fourth consecutive victory. To hoodwink the local and international pressure, the regime appeared to come up with a ridiculous election-time government, which is nothing but the same old corrupt ruling one.
The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) wholeheartedly dismisses such an arrangement by the ruling authorities and urges all to reject it outright. Under no circumstances should the BNP and the other opposition parties fall into this ostensibly Indian intelligence RAW-devised trap of the detested Hasina regime.
The United States-led international community is continuously urging that the next election must be free, fair, and participatory. Additionally, the US imposed sanctions on some top Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police officials for serious human rights violations. It also announced visa restrictions on election-related offenses.
CHRD Bangladesh continues to insist that the next election must be held under a non-partisan, neutral CTG, after completely overhauling the administration, including the Election Commission, by removing or suspending the partisan or controversial elements.