Bangladesh’s Election Commission has suspended the Awami League’s membership, properly barring the organization from contesting the upcoming national elections.
The decision comes after the time administration of Nobel prize Muhammad Yunus, who had been protesting for weeks, suspended all actions of the Awami League under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The state cited threats to national security and a war crimes research against the party’s top leadership as justification for the deaths of thousands of protesters.
The Election Commission has decided to suspend the group’s registration, according to Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, who spoke to reporters later on May 12 about the house agency’s decision to impose a moratorium on all Awami League and associated organizations.
A social group must be registered with the Election Commission in Bangladesh in order to participate in federal elections, according to Bangladesh’s political norms. The Awami League, which has ruled the nation for more than 20 years, is now legally prohibited from running in upcoming elections unless the moratorium is lifted and membership is reinstated as a result.
The Election Commission even forbade the organization and its affiliates from holding any political events, including press workshops, online and social media activities, processions, rallies, or conferences, before the International Crimes Tribunal’s proceedings are finished.
Hasina, who is credited with turning the economy around but who is accused of human rights violations and the destruction of protest, won a third straight expression in 2024, but the main opposition, whose top officials were imprisoned or in exile, boycotted the poll.