Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina’s party barred from election as party registration suspended

DHAKA, Bangladesh, May 13 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's Election Commission has suspended the registration of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, effectively barring the party from contesting the next national elections.

The move comes after the interim government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus banned all activities of the Awami League under the Anti-Terrorism Act after days of protests. The government cited national security threats and a war crimes investigation under way against the party’s top leadership over the deaths of hundreds of protesters.

“With the home ministry’s ban on all activities of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations, the Election Commission has decided to suspend the party’s registration,” Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told reporters late on Monday.

Under Bangladesh’s electoral laws, a political party must be registered with the Election Commission to participate in national polls. The suspension means the Awami League — which led the country for more than 20 years — is now officially disqualified from contesting future elections unless the ban is lifted and the registration restored.

The Election Commission also prohibited the party and its affiliates from conducting any political activities, including publications, media appearances, online and social media campaigns, processions, rallies or conferences, until the International Crimes Tribunal completes its proceedings.

Hasina, credited with turning around the economy but accused of human rights violations and the suppression of dissent, won a fourth straight term in 2024, but the poll was boycotted by the main opposition, whose top leaders were in jail or in exile.

Bangladesh has seen rising tensions and protests in recent months, after deadly protests forced Hasina to flee to India in August 2024 and an interim government led by Yunus took charge.

Yunus, who is not aligned to any party, has pledged reforms and said national elections could be delayed until 2026. He has said he is not interested in running.

India said on Tuesday that it was concerned by the ban on the Awami League, as well as the "curtailment of democratic freedoms" and "shrinking political space" in Bangladesh.

"We strongly support the early holding of free, fair and inclusive elections in Bangladesh," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing.

Washington was aware of the move and urged Bangladesh to respect the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association for all, U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters. "We support a free and democratic process as well as fair and transparent legal processes for all individuals," Pigott said.

Political parties, including former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have also demanded an early poll and return to a democratically elected government.

The newly formed student-driven National Citizen Party, which emerged from last year’s uprising that toppled Hasina, wants polls only after reforms are implemented.

The unrest began in July with student protests against public sector job quotas, but morphed into one of the deadliest periods of political violence since independence in 1971.

The Awami League has faced growing criticism in recent years over alleged authoritarianism, corruption and rights violations under Hasina’s leadership.