Road to Elections 2023-24
Opinion / A Potemkin election in Bangladesh?
An election without any competition will not be acceptable at home or abroad.
When the ruling party does the opposition's work
It is the EC’s role to ensure a congenial atmosphere for people to cast their votes freely.
Turn candidates' halafnama into amalnama
It is heartening to see that the media has been preparing statements based on the information in affidavits submitted by the candidates who are running for parliament.
Opinion / Of the AL, for the AL, and by the AL
AL-nominated and AL independent candidates will have enough AL supporters to represent a decent voter turnout.
Politicians’ wealth surge and why nations fail
The unbridled rise of moral hazards that engulf a nation and force it onto the path which leads to all areas becoming massively politicised, resulting in the youth being eager to become politicians for the wrong reasons.
The facade of a competitive election
The ruling Awami League is desperately trying to showcase the polls as inclusive and competitive.
Will the political deadlock discourage first-time voters?
Another election is in the offing, and even though I want to feel excited again, I simply cannot.
How to make dissenters out of citizens
Awami League has always found justification in the Nietzschean theory of cultivating or “inventing” enemies
Separation of judiciary still a far-off dream
The independence of the judiciary in Bangladesh has not yet been realised.
Human rights enjoyment in a red zone?
In almost all cases involving opposition activists, they were found guilty
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Has BNP served its supporters well?
The BNP failed to reap anything effective from the huge public support that it was able to garner late last year.
Expediency triumphs over principle in electoral politics
It appears that all of the ruling party’s efforts revolve around the next election, not considering longer-term ramifications for itself.
Placing dummies as alternatives disenfranchises voters
We are witnessing an engineered intra-party contest as most of the independents belong to the ruling party.
The flipside of the democracy carnival
Bereft of the basic rights to assemble and express, let alone protest, the people of Bangladesh are currently bearing the brunt of the coercive apparatuses of the state.
Another managed election will be disastrous
Continued denial of voting and other political and democratic rights is bound to become a very serious threat in the future.
A legal but illegitimate election will not serve the people
Legitimacy is all about inclusion and participation of voters and parties, and how people view the election.
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Is Awami League heading towards a Pyrrhic victory?
What image of our legal system are we presenting to the world?
