Distinguished Professor Ali Riaz has published two commentaries and was quoted in a news report in the Voice of America (VOA) on the upcoming election in Bangladesh.
In the commentary titled “Bangladesh’s Blueprint for Engineering an Election,” published in the Diplomat, Riaz highlighted various steps taken by the incumbent Hasina government to shape the election results in its favor. The election is boycotted by 15 parties registered with the country’s election commission including the major opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Although 29 other parties are joining the election, most of these are the allies of the ruling party or recently founded with the support of the government. The election is scheduled for January 7, 2024. Riaz argues that in addition to wholesale crackdown on the opposition parties since October 28, thousands of opposition leaders and activists have been arrested. He also noted that hundreds of opposition activists have been convicted by the lower courts in a manner that raises the question of whether due process has been followed. He asks whether such an exercise would be acceptable to the international community.
In a commentary titled “Elections without choice: A leaf out of autocrats’ playbook,” published in Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, the Daily Star, Riaz draws on the existing academic literature on the nature and qualities of elections. He shows that essential requirements of an acceptable and democratic election include uncertainty of the results and contestations. But the upcoming Bangladesh election lacks any of these as the ruling party, using the state apparatuses, have already created a process which will deliver a victory to the incumbent. This is a clear indication of Bangladesh’s quiet slide to an autocracy, he insists.
In a report in the VOA, titled, “Why Opposition Parties in Bangladesh Are Boycotting Next Month’s Elections,” Riaz was quoted as saying “enticing and coercing individuals and parties to join the election and setting up dummy candidates to provide an impression of an inclusive election indicate that January 7 will be a stage-managed show.”
