Courts, cases and candidates: How legal battles are reshaping the Bangladesh ballot

After one and a half years of turmoil, Bangladesh is all set to hold its first general elections following the overthrow of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government due to the July protests. While the elections are scheduled to take place on February 12, their outcomes are more or less decided by the turn of events that took place in the run-up to the polls.

From multiple court cases and trials to sweeping disqualification, multiple events are all set to influence the upcoming polls and their results. The election is crucial since it is likely to determine the future of Bangladesh for the course of the next five years, unless another protest like the July uprising takes over the country.

The government that will come to power after the polls will have to deal with domestic turmoil, complicated foreign relations, a shattered economy and much more. As we count days to the polls, here’s a look at how courts, cases and disqualifications are affecting the Bangladesh elections way before they even started.

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Ban on Awami League

One of the first hits to the idea of conducting fair elections in Bangladesh came when the interim regime under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus banned Hasina’s party, Awami League. It is pertient to note that in the last elections in the country, Awami League came to power with a massive majority.

However, at that time, many of the opposition politicians boycotted the polls. Despite the protests, the Awami League continue have a strong voter base in the country. There were some who also got disillusioned by the interim government of Yunus and opposed the ban on the Awami League. However, not only the party but its party leaders are barred from contesting in elections one way or another.

Many are questioning the validity of the polls, when one of the biggest parties, which has been contesting in polls since Bangladesh’s independence,e is not even allowed to participate in the elections.

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Disqualifications of MPs

At the start of this year, it was reported that at least 34 hopefuls in eight districts have lost their chances to contest the upcoming national election. This number has increased since then. These qualifications occurred because their nomination papers were scrapped during scrutiny by returning officers, The Daily Star reported.

Some of the prominent candidates disqualified to contest are. Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad and Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna. Returning Officer MA Mannan said Azad, who sought to run from Cox’s Bazar-2, was disqualified for failing to submit proper documents related to one of his cases.

Meanwhile, Manna’s papers for Bogura-2 were turned down due to incomplete information on his cases and inconsistencies in his financial statement, according to Returning Officer Toufiqur Rahman, The Daily Star reported. Two BNP rebel candidates in Munshiganj-1, Mir Sarafat Ali Sopu and Momin Ali, faced disqualification because discrepancies were found in the signatures of one per cent of supporting voters.

However, the disqualification of candidates due to a lack of documents is a common phenomenon in elections around the world. The clerical issues tend to affect a candidate’s chances of winning a particular constituency. The question now remains if they were given proper chances to rectify their mistakes.

Court Sagas

Trials and tribulations ahead for the Bangladesh elections have garnered significant attention all around the world. Right from the death sentencing of the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh to the death of one of her prominent party leaders in custody, the stage for this year’s polls was set on election rallies, but in the courtrooms.

Many of the key players of the  Bangladesh elections, especially those from the Awami League, have been facing one trial after another. The violence during the July 7 protests was at the centre of most of these cases. Apart from this, some politicians are facing corruption charges as well.

In the midst of this, news came on Saturday that veteran Awami League leader and former Minister of Water Resources Ramesh Chandra Sen died while in custody at Dinajpur District Jail. According to ANI, Sen, 83, fell sick inside the jail early Saturday. He was then rushed to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead at around 9:29 A.M. (local time).

The Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) has condemned the death of its leader, alleging that Yunus’s government has been targeting the Awami leaders and activists by “directly and indirectly instigating violence or by using the state machinery".

“Bangladesh Awami League President and Honorable Prime Minister, Bangabandhu’s daughter, public leader Deshratna Sheikh Hasina, has issued a statement strongly condemning and protesting the killing of Ramesh Chandra Sen—member of the Bangladesh Awami League Advisory Council, former Presidium member, former Minister and Member of Parliament—inside prison custody by the illegal occupying, murderous-fascist Yunus clique", an official statement from the party read.

Hence, many of the prominent politicians who could contest this year’s poll were unable to do so due to the cases against them.