Sheikh Hasina chose an overland journey to reach out to her supporters once again. The Awami League president spent two days on her debut campaign trail as Bangladesh was gearing up for the December 30 election.
Ms. Hasina travelled to her stronghold in Gopalganj from the capital Dhaka on December 12 to launch her official campaign with special prayers and a series of rallies. The same day, Jatiya Oikya Front chief Kamal Hossain visited the shrines of Hazrat Shahjalal and Hazrat Shahparan in Sylhet to seek divine blessings for the Opposition alliance’s campaign. Mr. Hossain is not competing in the election as a candidate, though.
Ms. Hasina sought the vote urging people to allow her to finish her unfinished tasks for development. Mr. Hossain alleged that “arbitrary arrests” were aimed at harassing Opposition leaders and activists ahead of the election. “Our leaders and activists are arrested every day. It is not a sign of fair elections. We must work for a fair election. We will fight on to the end of it,” he said.
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The days in the run-up to the election are not calm any more. Violence returned to the political scene with the killings of two ruling party activists in clashes with Opposition supporters in the opening days of the campaign. Opposition leaders, on the other hand, are complaining of attacks on their campaign motorcades. Uncertainty looms large over the Opposition camp.
A court ruling ruined the prospects of Khaleda Zia as an election candidate. High Court judges were divided over whether Ms. Zia, who is currently serving time in prison in two graft cases, would be able to contest the election. Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed ordered the Election Commission to accept Ms. Zia’s nomination. By contrast, Justice Iqbal Kabir, a member of the same bench, expressed his disagreement, blocking her from contesting the election. The matter then shifted to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for the final decision. It is a race against time for the BNP as the legal battle lingers. The fight bears a close resemblance to the battles of five other BNP leaders who sought a freeze on their jail sentences to find ways into the election.
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The High Court ruled on November 27 that convicts sentenced to more than two years in jail are not qualified for the race to Parliament even if their appeals are pending with courts. The development brought misery to the Opposition camp. In a desperate move, Ms. Zia’s deputies rushed to stand in for her in three constituencies, originally allocated for her, to prevent a possible vacuum in the BNP strongholds.
Without the leader
As the BNP struggles to put its own house in order, it grieves the absence of Ms. Zia, a three-time Prime Minister, from the election. On November 26, Mirza Fakhrul Islam, secretary general of BNP, broke down in public as he vented his frustration over the jailing of Ms. Zia. “I’m here today — broken-hearted. For the first time, we’re going to the polls without our chairperson,” he said in Dhaka.
Mr. Islam was seen wiping his eyes with a sheet of tissue handed by his colleague next to him. “Begum Khaleda Zia is in prison. She has been imprisoned for a long time due to the government’s vengeful cases... Countless leaders and activists of Opposition parties are in jail,” he said. “There is no atmosphere for a free and fair election.”
Mr. Islam defended his party’s decision to compete in the poll. There are two reasons: a victory will ensure a safe passage for Ms. Zia out of jail and their presence in the polls will “revive people’s voting right”.
Arun Devnath is a journalist based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.