In her recent interviews with international media, Sheikh Hasina delivered a message that cuts through the fog of propaganda surrounding Bangladesh’s current political crisis: millions cannot be disenfranchised.
The statement captures more than political defiance — it encapsulates a moral truth about democracy itself. No government that claims legitimacy can exclude the will of the majority. Yet that is precisely what the unelected, army- and Islamist-backed interim regime of Muhammad Yunus has done.
The Silencing of a Nation
Since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in August 2024, Bangladesh has slipped into a state of systemic repression. The interim administration, which promised a “transition to democracy,” has instead engineered a blackout of political participation. All activities of Awami League remains banned. Journalists and academics are silenced, and thousands of Awami League members have been detained, tortured, or forced into hiding.
Across the country, the crackdown has assumed a disturbingly personal nature. In district after district, homes of Awami League supporters have been raided, and family members abducted or assaulted to extract “confessions.” Human-rights defenders describe a pattern of intimidation unseen since the days following the 1975 coup that claimed the life of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Disenfranchisement as Strategy
By suspending the Awami League’s registration, the Election Commission has effectively erased the political identity of more than half the electorate. It is a disenfranchisement not just of voters, but of a national history built on the ideals of liberation and secular democracy.
Yunus argues that the ban is a “temporary measure” pending investigations. Yet temporary authoritarianism has a way of becoming permanent when it serves those in power. Each day the ban remains in place, the political center of Bangladesh — its institutions, its social fabric, its global credibility — continues to erode.
The Cost of Exclusion
The Awami League’s exclusion has not restored order; it has deepened polarization. The economy, once hailed as a South Asian success story, is faltering. Industrial growth has slowed, remittances have dropped, and investors are retreating amid uncertainty. Inflation and corruption thrive where accountability has vanished.
At the same time, extremist voices long kept at bay under Hasina’s secular government have resurfaced. Islamist preachers once banned for incitement now appear at public rallies under state protection, filling the political vacuum with sectarian rhetoric. The government that came to power claiming to heal division is instead amplifying it.
A Judiciary Turned Political Weapon
The interim government’s use of the International Crimes Tribunal to prosecute Sheikh Hasina — in absentia — reflects a calculated effort to criminalize leadership rather than deliver justice. Proceedings have been marked by selective evidence, closed hearings, and predetermined narratives.
The tribunal, once a proud symbol of Bangladesh’s moral stand against impunity for 1971 war crimes, now risks being remembered as an instrument of political revenge.
Hasina’s Stand from Exile
From exile in New Delhi, Sheikh Hasina continues to embody the persistence of democratic will. Her assertion that “millions cannot be disenfranchised” is not a plea for personal vindication but a warning: no country can build stability on the silencing of its majority.
She has rejected all charges against her, describing the trial as “a politically motivated charade,” and insists that her exile will end only when constitutional rule and fair elections return. Her call is not for power, but for legitimacy — a principle that transcends partisan divides.
The Path Forward
If Bangladesh is to reclaim its democratic identity, four steps are essential: the immediate restoration of all political rights; the reinstatement of the Awami League’s registration; the lifting of restrictions on free speech and political association; and an end to the persecution of political leaders driven by vengeance. Without these, the February 2026 election will serve only as theater, not transition.
The international community, too, must recognize what is at stake. Stability cannot be achieved through selective inclusion. Development cannot flourish under censorship and fear. And peace cannot endure where millions are denied a voice.
The message from exile remains as clear as it is urgent: a democracy that silences its majority silences itself.
Writer: Dastagir Jahangir, Editor of The Voice
