200,000 Bangladeshi Protesters Call for New Elections as Violence Grows – Report

On Tuesday, security forces stormed the headquarters of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), in a raid that left at least one person dead and dozens more injured.

Scores of supporters of Bangladesh’s main opposition party, BNP, have taken to the streets in the capital Dhaka to say “no” to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed’s government and call for new elections.

A protest rally took place earlier on Saturday at the Golapbagh sports ground, where the crowd chanted “Sheikh Hasina is a vote thief”, among other slogans.

Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) gather in the party's last divisional rally in Dhaka on December 10, 2022

© AFP 2023 / REHMAN ASAD

During the event, all seven BNP MPs announced their resignation from parliament, something that is expected to leave parliament completely controlled by the government.

BNP claimed that about 200,000 protesters took part in the rally, while Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruq Ahmed said that the Golapbagh venue could only hold around 30,000 people.

BNP spokesman Zahiruddin Swapan told a French news outlet that the party’s “main demand is that Sheikh Hasina resign and parliament is dissolved and let a neutral caretaker government step in to hold a free and fair election.”

Swapan apparently referred to the previous two general elections in Bangladesh that were reportedly rigged by the government, which rejects the allegations.

The Saturday rally came a day after two BNP leaders were detained on allegations of inciting violence, arrests that in turn followed Tuesday’s raid by security forces on the BNP headquarters, which left at least one person dead and more than 60 wounded. The BNP earlier claimed that almost 2,000 party activists and supporters had been detained since November 30.

Also on Tuesday, 15 Western embassies issued a joint statement, urging Bangladesh authorities to allow free expression, peaceful assembly and fair elections, with the UN making a similar call shortly after.

Yamini Mishra, director of South Asia Regional Office at Amnesty International, for her part, argued that recent violence in Bangladesh showed that its authorities “have very little regard for the sanctity of human life and sends a chilling message that those who dare to exercise their human rights will face dire consequences.”

With Bangladesh expected to hold national elections in 2023, the opposition says that the vote should be preceded by the creation of a non-political and neutral caretaker government.