Bangladesh Election Result: BNP Wins Landslide Victory After Gen Z Uprising

Azadeh Moshiri
Reporting from Dhaka

Even before the polls opened yesterday, the Awami League had claimed these are not free and fair elections, and from hiding, casting doubt on its legitimacy. Now, its arch rival the BNP has been declared the winner.

The Awami League has been suspended from political activities, including contesting the elections, under an anti-terrorism law.

Would a BNP government reverse that ban?

When I spoke to BNP senior politician Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury on the campaign trail, he said the BNP “has never asked for banning any political party”.

But, Khasru also questioned whether the Awami League could still be considered a political party, after its brutal crackdown on student protesters, and years of increasingly authoritarian rule. It’s up to “the law of the country” to decide whether the Awami League is guilty of terrorism, he said.

When we spoke to one of their politicians in hiding, who asked his identity be kept anonymous for his safety, he said the allegations against them were “false” and “fabricated.”

No matter the BNP’s decision, a major challenge for them is how to unite a country that includes Awami League supporters who feel disenfranchised and cast aside.