US lawmakers flag concerns over Awami League ban, warn it could undermine Bangladesh’s February elections

US lawmakers flag concerns over Awami League ban, warn it could undermine Bangladesh’s February elections

• US lawmakers urge Bangladesh to let Awami League join upcoming elections
• Banning parties may undermine free and fair elections and democratic values.
• Lawmakers urge reforms, accountability for security forces' actions during protests

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A group of US lawmakers has raised concerns over Bangladesh’s decision to impose a total ban on the Awami League ahead of national elections scheduled for early next year, warning that the move could undermine the prospects of a free and fair poll.

In a letter sent on Tuesday to Bangladesh’s interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, senior members of the US House of Representatives urged the interim government to ensure an inclusive electoral process.

The signatories included House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, South and Central Asia Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga, Ranking Member Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and Congresswoman Julie Johnson.

The lawmakers said it was essential for the interim administration to engage with political parties across the spectrum to create conditions that allow voters to express their will peacefully through the ballot box. They also stressed the need for reforms that rebuild trust in the neutrality and integrity of state institutions ahead of the February elections.

They cautioned that these goals would be difficult to achieve if political parties are barred from operating or if controversial legal mechanisms, such as the International Crimes Tribunal, are revived without safeguards. The lawmakers noted that the US State Department and other international observers had previously concluded that Bangladesh’s 2018 and 2024 general elections fell short of international standards for being free and fair.

Referring to last year’s unrest, the lawmakers cited a February report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which estimated that around 1,400 people were killed by security forces during protests in July and August. They said accountability for such actions must reflect democratic values rather than perpetuate cycles of retaliation.

“Freedom of association, as well as the principle of individual rather than collective criminal responsibility, are fundamental human rights,” the lawmakers said, adding that suspending an entire political party instead of prosecuting individuals through due process runs counter to those principles.

They expressed hope that the Yunus-led interim government, or any future elected administration, would reconsider the decision to suspend the activities of any political party. Ultimately, they said, Bangladeshis should be able to choose their government through elections in which all parties are allowed to participate.

Bangladesh recently banned all activities of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League under a revised Anti-Terrorism Act, pending the completion of trials against the party’s leaders and activists by the International Crimes Tribunal.

(With agency inputs)