The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) reiterated in many of its statements and letters to the US authorities that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh has been vehemently opposed to the demands of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led opposition to hold the next election under a nonpartisan, neutral Caretaker Government (CTG), citing “constitutional provision.”
The so-called constitutional provision itself is a farce. In 2011, Sheikh Hasina took advantage of her party, the Awami League’s absolute majority in the parliament and discarded the CTG, without following proper constitutional procedures. She totally ignored the recommendations of the initiating judge to hold at least the next two elections under the existing CTG system. Her sole objective was to administer the electoral system with a view to ensuring self-victories for perpetuity. We have seen the consequent dramas in 2014 and 2018, when the political rivals were forcibly kept away, and the ballot boxes were pre-filled by Awami operatives in favor of their candidates under the supervision of the loyal election officials and local administration. The Awami League and its tagged cohorts came up with an almost 100% victory, an unprecedented feat anywhere in the world. Thus, becoming an absolute authoritarian demagogue, she ruled by tyranny and oppression in which human rights, democracy, freedom and election integrity were ruthlessly trampled upon. The suffering humanity kept groaning and longing for help.
Sheikh Hasina seems determined to replay the same farcical drama for the next election likely to be held in January of 2024. In other words, she is totally opposed to a free and fair election, demanded by the people and the US-led democratic world, because in a fair election, she fears her doom and ejection out of her seat as the PM that she has illegally occupied the past 15 years.
The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh therefore continues to insist that the next election, which is crucial for Bangladesh, must be held under a neutral CTG.