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Millions of supporters of Bangladesh’s Awami League volition boycott adjacent year’s nationalist election, aft the enactment was barred from contesting the polls, ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told Reuters connected Wednesday (October 29, 2025) from her exile successful New Delhi.
Ms. Hasina, 78, said she would not instrumentality to Bangladesh nether immoderate government formed aft elections that exclude her party, and plans to stay successful India, wherever she fled successful August 2024 pursuing a deadly student-led uprising.
An interim authorities headed by Nobel bid laureate Muhammad Yunus has governed Bangladesh since Ms. Hasina’s ouster and has pledged to clasp elections adjacent February.
“The prohibition connected the Awami League is not lone unjust, it is self-defeating,” Ms. Hasina said successful emailed responses to Reuters — her archetypal media engagement since her melodramatic autumn from powerfulness aft 15 consecutive years astatine the helm of Bangladeshi politics.
“The adjacent authorities indispensable person electoral legitimacy. Millions of radical enactment the Awami League, truthful arsenic things stand, they volition not vote. You cannot disenfranchise millions of radical if you privation a governmental strategy that works.”
EX-LEADER HOPES AWAMI LEAGUE WILL BE ALLOWED TO CONTEST
Bangladesh has implicit 126 cardinal registered voters. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party person agelong dominated the country’s politics, and the BNP is wide expected to triumph the upcoming vote.
The Election Commission suspended the Awami League’s registration successful May. Earlier, the Yunus-led authorities banned each enactment activities, citing nationalist information threats and warfare crimes investigations into elder Awami League leaders.
“We are not asking Awami League voters to enactment different parties,” Ms. Hasina said. “We inactive anticipation communal consciousness volition prevail and we volition beryllium allowed to contention the predetermination ourselves.”
She did not accidental if she oregon anyone other connected her behalf was holding immoderate back-channel talks with Bangladeshi authorities to fto the Awami League enactment successful the polls.
Opinion:Bangladesh, a twelvemonth aft Sheikh Hasina’s ouster
Spokespeople for Mr. Yunus did not instantly respond to requests for comment.
Ms. Hasina, credited with transforming Bangladesh’s system but accused of quality rights abuses and suppressing dissent, won a 4th consecutive word successful 2024. That predetermination was boycotted by the main opposition, whose apical leaders were either jailed oregon successful exile.
The International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s home warfare crimes court, has concluded proceedings against Ms. Hasina, who faces charges of crimes against humanity implicit the convulsive crackdown connected pupil protests successful mid-2024.
According to a United Nations report, up to 1,400 radical whitethorn person been killed during the protests betwixt July 15 and August 5, 2024, with thousands much injured — astir from gunfire by information forces — successful what was the worst unit successful Bangladesh since its 1971 warfare of independence.
Prosecutors besides allege she oversaw enforced disappearances and torture of absorption activists done clandestine detention centres tally by information agencies.
A verdict is expected connected November 13.
Ms. Hasina denied the charges, saying she was not personally progressive successful the usage of lethal unit oregon different alleged crimes.
“These proceedings are a politically motivated charade,” she said. “They’ve been brought by kangaroo courts, with blameworthy verdicts a foregone conclusion. I was mostly denied anterior announcement oregon immoderate meaningful accidental to support myself.”
NO PLANS TO RETURN HOME YET
Despite the governmental turmoil, Ms. Hasina said the Awami League would yet instrumentality to play a relation successful Bangladesh’s aboriginal — whether successful authorities oregon absorption — and that her household request not pb it.
Her lad and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, who lives successful Washington, told Reuters past twelvemonth helium mightiness see starring the enactment if asked.
“It’s truly not astir maine oregon my family,” Ms. Hasina said. “For Bangladesh to execute the aboriginal we each want, determination indispensable beryllium a instrumentality to law regularisation and governmental stability. No azygous idiosyncratic oregon household defines our country’s future.”
Ms. Hasina, whose begetter and 3 brothers were killed successful a 1975 subject coup portion she and her sister were abroad, said she lives freely successful Delhi but remains cautious fixed her family’s convulsive history.
A fewer months ago, a Reuters newsman saw Ms. Hasina taking a quiescent stroll done Delhi’s historical Lodhi Garden, accompanied by 2 individuals who appeared to beryllium her idiosyncratic information detail. She acknowledged passersby with a motion arsenic immoderate recognised her.
“I would of people emotion to spell home, truthful agelong arsenic the authorities determination was legitimate, the constitution was being upheld, and instrumentality and bid genuinely prevailed,” she said.
Ms. Hasina’s departure triggered targeted unit against Awami League workers, though the streets person since remained mostly calm. However, clashes erupted earlier this period during the signing of a charter for authorities reform.
