Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami opposes elections earlier than Hasina’s trial, political reforms
Bangladesh’s largest Islamist political get together Jamaat-e-Islami on Saturday firmly opposed holding normal elections earlier than the trial of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the completion of key political reforms, a stance that indicators a rift with its former ally, the Khaleda Zia-led BNP, and provides to the deepening political uncertainty within the nation.
Addressing a public rally in northwestern Lalmonirhat district, bordering India, Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman mentioned that no election can be acceptable to the folks until these answerable for violence underneath Hasina’s authorities are delivered to justice and structural political reforms are accomplished.
“Forward of any election in Bangladesh, the trial of the murderers (Hasina regime leaders) should develop into seen and reforms are to be accomplished first,” he was quoted as saying by the Naya Diganta newspaper, a publication broadly considered as aligned with Jamaat.
“Forward of undertaking these two duties, the folks won’t settle for any election in Bangladesh,” Rahman mentioned.
The Jamaat chief additionally referred to as for a relationship with India based mostly on “mutual respect, equality, and good neighbourliness”.
“If we prosper, our neighbours will profit too. But when our well-being is compromised, India should ask whether or not theirs can stay unaffected,” Rahman mentioned.
Jamaat’s feedback got here three days after the Bangladesh Nationalist Occasion (BNP), at the moment the biggest political power outdoors the interim administration, expressed its frustration over the election deadline after a gathering with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
“We aren’t glad in any respect,” BNP secretary normal Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had instructed reporters after his assembly with Yunus.
“The Chief Adviser didn’t give a (clear) deadline. He mentioned the polls could be held between December (2025) and June (2026). We aren’t glad with that,” he mentioned.
Alamgir reiterated that elections have to be held by December this 12 months. Any additional delays may exacerbate Bangladesh’s financial instability and deepen the political disaster, and “will probably be more durable to convey it underneath management”, he mentioned.
The BNP chief mentioned his get together has “categorically” made it clear that the “cutoff time for polls is December”.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, as soon as a key BNP ally, has more and more been taking an impartial place. On the Lalmonirhat rally, Rahman additionally spoke about inclusivity, denouncing the nation’s historic political polarisation.
The Jamaat chief mentioned his get together rejects the divisions of ‘supporter’ and ‘opponent’ and the rhetoric of ‘minority’ versus ‘majority’ which “has lengthy been used to oppress us”.
Rahman mentioned Jamaat envisions a society the place each women and men contribute equally to nation-building and if his get together involves energy, ladies can be given respect, safety, and employment alternatives.
He additionally urged Yunus to make sure that the upcoming elections are free from the affect of “black cash and muscle energy”, emphasising the necessity for a very degree enjoying discipline.
The Jamaat chief’s first such clear stance on election points seems to align carefully with that of the newly-floated Nationwide Citizen Occasion (NCP), a student-led group believed to have emerged with Yunus’s backing.
Earlier this week at a celebration rally, NCP convenor Nahid Islam had mentioned, “No election might be held underneath such an administration.”
In the meantime, amid mounting criticism, Yunus’s workplace launched an announcement on Saturday reaffirming his dedication to democratic reforms.
Chatting with a visiting delegation from the Asian Community for Free Elections (ANFREL) on Thursday, the Chief Adviser mentioned: “We wish to guarantee that the election would be the greatest in Bangladesh’s historical past and a milestone for the nation’s democratic journey.”
Yunus assured the delegates that Bangladesh will host a free and honest election between December 2025 and June 2026, the assertion mentioned.
Bangladesh has been underneath an interim administration since August 2024, when Hasina was compelled to step down amid widespread student-led protests organised by the motion College students In opposition to Discrimination (SAD).
The unrest, pushed by allegations of authoritarianism, corruption, and political repression, culminated in Hasina’s departure to India and the collapse of her practically 16-year Awami League authorities.
Yunus, nobel laureate and founding father of microfinance Grameen Financial institution, assumed management of the interim authorities on August 8, 2024. His return to politics got here on the request of the SAD motion, which has since fragmented, with a significant faction forming the NCP.
Whereas initially welcomed as a impartial determine to information the nation by way of a democratic transition, Yunus has confronted rising strain over delays in setting a timeline for normal elections.
