‘Frightening situation’: Bangladesh elections haunted by political violence

Dhaka, Bangladesh — When Kazi Shawon Alam learned that Azizur Rahman Musabbir, a chap Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activist, had been changeable dormant connected January 7, it confirmed to him what galore governmental organisers already felt up of Bangladesh’s February 12 parliamentary elections: campaigning had go dangerous.

Musabbir’s sidesplitting felt personal. Shawon had gone to jailhouse with Musabbir 4 times nether the authorities of erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which was wide accused of brutal crackdowns connected the governmental opposition, including done wide arrests, killings and forced disappearances.

That epoch of fear, galore Bangladeshis believed, had ended with Hasina’s ouster successful the fashionable student-led uprising, which forced her to fly to India connected August 5, 2024.

But portion the interim authorities of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who replaced Hasina, is not accused of orchestrating immoderate specified excesses, governmental unit successful Bangladesh is surging again up of the upcoming vote.

“Police accidental determination was nary governmental motive [behind Musabbir’s killing], but fearfulness doesn’t disappear,” said Shawon, a person of the BNP’s pupil helping successful the capital, Dhaka. “We don’t privation killings oregon confrontation with anyone. But the world is, during elections, unit feels inevitable.”

Bangladesh is heading to the polls for the archetypal clip since Hasina was removed from power, ending much than 15 years of hardline government. The Yunus interim authorities is overseeing a ballot that coincides with a referendum connected authorities reforms, with astir 120 cardinal voters eligible to formed ballots successful the South Asian federation of astir 170 cardinal people.

Yet, a bid of killings, threats and thoroughfare clashes is reviving fears of a instrumentality to past election-season violence, which Bangladesh has routinely grappled with since its 1971 independency from Pakistan.

Across Bangladesh’s 300 constituencies, the BNP is starring a conjugation of 10 like-minded parties. Meanwhile, the Jamaat-e-Islami, besides known arsenic the Jamaat, is heading a abstracted 11-party alliance, which includes the National Citizen Party, a radical formed by students who led the anti-Hasina movement.

Outside these blocs, the Islami Andolan Bangladesh, which broke distant from the Jamaat-led alliance, and the Jatiya Party, a longtime state of Hasina’s Awami League (AL), are contesting independently. The AL itself is absent from the predetermination arsenic Yunus’s medication banned its governmental activities successful May 2025.

But portion these parties correspond divers ideological platforms, a spate of killings and convulsive attacks crossed the state is sparing nary of them.

A pistillate mourns her son, who died during the erstwhile day’s convulsive clashes betwixt supporters of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and information forces, successful Gopalganj, Bangladesh, connected Thursday, July 17, 2025 [Abdul Goni/ AP Photo]

Targeted killings, unit rise

Hasan Mollah, 42, a section BNP person successful Keraniganj connected the outskirts of Dhaka, was changeable connected Friday, January 23, portion sitting astatine a neighbourhood predetermination office. He died a time aboriginal successful a Dhaka hospital, with the motive for the sidesplitting unclear.

Mollah was the 16th governmental activistic killed since the Bangladesh Election Commission announced the predetermination docket connected December 11, according to section media reports.

Days earlier, a ward-level person of the Jamaat, 65-year-old Anwarullah, was killed astatine his residence successful Dhaka’s West Rajabazar neighbourhood during what constabulary described arsenic a burglary.

The deaths followed the December sidesplitting of Sharif Osman Hadi, a younker person who emerged arsenic a salient look of the 2024 protests and was preparing to contention a parliamentary spot successful cardinal Dhaka.

Hadi was changeable connected December 12 by gunmen connected a motorcycle. He died connected December 18 successful a Singapore hospital, with his decease starring to unrest and renewed information concerns nationwide.

None of the killings has been officially classified arsenic politically motivated. Yet, for enactment activists, that favoritism offers small reassurance.

Local media and rights groups accidental BNP leaders and activists relationship for 13 of the 16 deaths recorded since the predetermination docket was announced. The others see Hadi, Jamaat person Anwarullah, and a person of the banned AL younker wing, Jubo League.

Seven of the victims were changeable dead, underscoring the wide beingness of amerciable firearms, reports Prothom Alo, a Bangla daily.

Government information amusement that of the 3,619 weapons looted from information forces during the 2024 uprising, astir 1,360 stay unaccounted for, on with a ample quantity of ammunition, contempt information forces recovering much than 60 percent of the stolen arms up of the polls.

Meanwhile, astatine slightest 62 election-related clashes person been recorded nationwide since the predetermination docket was announced, according to a study by the Human Rights Support Society (HRSS).

For galore Bangladeshis, these deaths revive bitter memories of decades of governmental violence.

Jamaat-e-Islami activists condemn an onslaught successful Gopalganj connected National Citizen Party leaders by supporters of the ousted leader, Sheikh Hasina, during a protestation successful beforehand of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque successful Dhaka, Bangladesh, connected July 17, 2025 [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP]

A acquainted history

A comparative mapping by the Bangladesh Peace Observatory (BPO), an election-violence monitoring inaugural tally by the Dhaka-based Centre for Alternatives, shows wide variations successful election-period deaths implicit the years.

Using a modular pre- and post-election window, the BPO recorded 49 deaths astir the 1991 election, 21 astir the 2008 vote, and 142 astir the 2014 polls, an predetermination boycotted by the main absorption BNP and Jamaat.

Subsequent elections successful 2018 and 2023, held nether Hasina’s government, were wide described by rights groups and absorption parties arsenic one-sided, with constricted contestation.

Violence, nonetheless, persisted. Ahead of the 2018 election, United Nations quality rights experts documented 47 incidents of election-related unit successful 4 days, leaving 8 radical dormant and much than 560 injured.

During the 2014 vote, astatine slightest 21 radical were killed connected polling day, and voting was halted astatine astir 400 centres.

This history, said analysts, helps explicate wherefore fearfulness remains precocious arsenic Bangladesh heads into its archetypal genuinely competitory predetermination since Hasina’s removal from power.

A protester reacts adjacent the premises of the Prothom Alo regular newspaper, which was acceptable connected occurrence by aggravated protesters aft quality reached the state from Singapore of the decease of a salient activist, Sharif Osman Hadi, successful Dhaka, Bangladesh, connected December 19, 2025 [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP]

Threats from within

In immoderate constituencies, the information comes from wrong governmental parties themselves.

In the cardinal territory of Tangail, Tusher Khan, a 24-year-old BNP pupil helping leader, said helium filed a ailment with section constabulary aft receiving threats from a elder BNP fig aligned with a rival candidate.

“They told maine they would interruption my arms and legs if I stayed progressive successful the campaign,” Khan told Al Jazeera.

The quality centres connected a spot wherever a erstwhile BNP curate is moving arsenic an autarkic against a BNP-nominated candidate. Khan said the intimidation was aimed astatine keeping rival supporters distant from polling centres connected predetermination day.

Abdul Latif, the section BNP person accused of issuing the threats, acknowledged confronting Khan, but dismissed the complaint. “He defamed our candidate,” Latif said. “We volition not spare anyone who provokes us.”

According to Prothom Alo, 92 BNP leaders stay successful the contention arsenic rebel candidates crossed 79 constituencies. Jamaat has 1 rebel candidate.

Analysts accidental constituencies with rebel contenders are much prone to unit up of the vote.

Local media reported clashes among supporters of BNP candidates successful 4 districts connected Saturday alone, leaving much than 100 radical injured.

People stitchery to execute ceremonial prayers for starring Bangladeshi activistic Sharif Osman Hadi, who died from gunshot wounds sustained successful an onslaught successful Dhaka earlier this month, extracurricular the Parliament analyzable successful Dhaka, connected December 20, 2025 [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Photo]

BNP vs Jamaat: Clashes spill onto the streets

Political tensions person progressively spilled into nationalist presumption arsenic campaigning intensifies.

A clash broke retired successful Dhaka’s Mirpur country connected the evening of January 20, leaving astir a twelve radical injured, a time earlier ceremonial campaigning began, aft 2 pistillate activists of Jamaat “incidentally” went to a BNP leader’s flat arsenic portion of electioneering.

Jamaat main Shafiqur Rahman is contesting the parliamentary spot from that densely populated neighbourhood against a BNP candidate. Since then, residents accidental fearfulness has lingered arsenic rival activists support a disposable run beingness successful the locality.

“This is truly a frightening concern for mean voters similar us,” said Abdullah Al Mamun, who lives astir 500 metres (547 yards) from the tract of the violence. “We don’t privation clashes. We conscionable privation to ballot peacefully.”

BNP and Jamaat leaders person accused each different of intimidation, and person some criticised the Election Commission for failing to enactment decisively.

“We fearfulness unit arsenic predetermination time approaches,” said Jubaer Ahmed, a Jamaat leader. “Our activists are being intimidated crossed the country, our campaigns are being obstructed, and successful Mirpur, our women activists were attacked.”

However, from the BNP side, Saimum Parvez, a enactment person progressive successful predetermination coordination, alleged that Jamaat activists were collecting elector accusation illegally.

He besides said that caller killings of governmental activists should not beryllium dismissed arsenic interior disputes. “Some of these whitethorn beryllium targeted killings meant to disrupt the election,” helium told Al Jazeera.

He accused Jamaat of spreading online disinformation, which is spilling retired into offline tensions, and warned that immoderate cognition of a “managed election” would lone summation the hazard of violence.

Demonstrators propulsion stones towards constabulary during a protestation demanding the demolition of the location of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the begetter of the removed leader, Sheikh Hasina, and the person of Bangladesh’s conflict for independency from Pakistan successful 1971, successful Dhaka, connected November 17, 2025  [Fatima Tuj Johora/Reuters]

A festival, yet harder to control

Police accidental that thoroughfare confrontations are becoming harder to forestall nationwide arsenic governmental enactment expands.

A constabulary serviceman successful Kurigram, a bluish territory adjacent the Indian border, said that rival BNP and Jamaat groups came look to look during door-to-door campaigning astatine 2 locations pursuing Friday prayers, forcing constabulary to intervene.

“After galore years, elections consciousness similar a festival again,” the serviceman told Al Jazeera, speaking connected information of anonymity. “More mean radical are getting involved, but that besides means confrontation risks person increased. Police can’t beryllium everyplace astatine once.”

AHM Shahadat Hossain, further inspector wide (media and nationalist relations) astatine Bangladesh Police headquarters, said authorities are intimately monitoring the instrumentality and bid concern up of the vote.

“Overall, the concern is nether control,” helium said, adding that other precautions person been enactment successful spot successful susceptible areas.

Hossain acknowledged that immoderate weapons looted during the July 2024 unrest stay unrecovered. “Preventing their usage successful election-related unit is simply a apical priority,” helium said.

About 900,000 personnel, including 108,730 members of the military, volition beryllium deployed from February 8 to 14 to guarantee information for the elections, according to Jahangir Alam, the acting caput of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Authorities accidental that much than fractional of the country’s 42,761 polling centres, which person been classified arsenic risky, volition person the bulk of further information forces.

Addressing the caller killings and clashes, Hossain said constabulary are investigating incidents arsenic transgression acts, careless of governmental affiliation. “Those progressive volition look ineligible action,” helium said, adding that constabulary would enactment “professionally, impartially and firmly” to support lives and voting rights.

Officials successful the bureau of interim person Yunus accidental unit truthful acold remains little than successful past nationalist elections, citing tighter coordination among information agencies.

While briefing overseas diplomats successful Dhaka connected Sunday, Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin said the predetermination assemblage would enactment successful spot robust information measures to guarantee a peaceful vote.

As the briefing was nether way, section media reported a clash betwixt Jamaat and BNP supporters implicit electioneering successful Lalmonirhat, a bluish territory adjacent the Indian border, which near astir 20 radical injured.

From exile successful New Delhi, erstwhile Prime Minister Hasina connected Saturday urged her supporters to overthrow the Yunus-led government, injecting further governmental hostility up of the vote.

Against this backdrop, predetermination watchdogs stay acrophobic astir the credibility of the February 12 vote.

Badiul Alam Majumdar, the caput of the national level SHUJAN, warned that rising intolerance could undermine the process. “The existent challenge,” helium said, “is whether authoritative assurances tin flooded fearfulness rooted not lone successful existent events, but successful history”.