‘Vote doesn’t count’: Bangladesh’s ‘bizarre’ election tests ties with West

The nation of 170 million people votes on Sunday in elections that the main opposition has boycotted.

Dhaka, Bangladesh — Bangladesh is going to hold its national election tomorrow amid a boycott by the principal opposition party, a crackdown on protesters and intense pressure from Western countries who have warned for months about a lack of the vote’s credibility damaging the nation’s democracy.

With the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main political opposition, not contesting, Sunday’s outcome is almost a foregone conclusion, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League widely expected to win its fourth consecutive term.

But that win might come with a loss – political pundits and analysts say the manner in which the election is being conducted could affect the South Asian nation’s diplomatic and economic relationships with Western partners, most notably, the United States.

The Biden administration has repeatedly criticised the Bangladesh government for its handling of the election, and in September declared visa restrictions on select individuals accused of subverting the democratic process. Bangladesh’s previous two elections were also similarly tainted: the BNP boycotted the election in 2014 and the 2018 vote was marred by allegations of major vote-rigging.

A more significant backlash from the US could strain Bangladesh’s already fragile economy and take its seething political unrest – witnessed in large protests over recent months – to a boiling point.