Banning the opposition is no way to revive Bangladesh’s democracy

It took only four years for the euphoria that followed Bangladesh’s independence, in 1971, to be extinguished by a military coup. Bangladesh’s second liberation, ushered in by a popular revolution last year, is in danger of fizzling out even more swiftly. In August 2024 a student-led uprising overthrew Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister, who had ruled the country with increasing despotism for the preceding 15 years. A caretaker government took over, led by Muhammad Yunus, a microcredit pioneer and national hero; it promised to rebuild the country’s democracy. Nearly a year on, the new Bangladesh hangs in the balance.

To be fair, Mr Yunus and his caretaker administration were handed a wickedly difficult task. Years of misrule had deeply corroded democratic institutions. Corruption was widespread and blatant; thugs beat up the government’s enemies. The economy, after a period of impressive growth, had lost steam: nearly a fifth of Bangladeshi youngsters were unemployed. Some furious revolutionaries vowed to take vengeance on anyone they thought had helped Sheikh Hasina’s regime.

The new government has made some headway. It has said, tentatively, that it plans to hold elections in February 2026. The economy is sluggish but stable. Inflation has slowed. International lenders are providing loans.

Yet much else that it is doing looks risky. In foreign affairs Bangladesh has lurched towards China, wooed by the prospect of trade, investment and cheaper arms. This endangers ties with America, which is the biggest buyer of Bangladesh’s exports and was, until the Trump administration’s aid cuts, one of its most important donors. The tilt to China, as well as greater chumminess with Pakistan, has angered India, too. Ties with Bangladesh’s giant neighbour were improving until last summer, but are now fraying. In recent months India has cancelled a trans-shipment agreement that was benefiting Bangladeshi firms and deported Bangladeshi migrants. Now it wants to renegotiate an important river-sharing treaty.

Mr Yunus’s most important task is to remodel Bangladesh’s politics. That means convincing the country’s quarrelsome parties to agree on new rules for elections, and much besides. Yet there are signs that politicians are running out of patience with this process. Political disagreements are spilling onto the streets. In mid-June a mob assaulted a former election commissioner accused of helping Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Awami League, fix elections in 2018.

In May the interim administration made a big misstep: it banned the Awami League from politics, which will prevent it from taking part in the elections due next year. Courts are rightly prosecuting party leaders for crimes committed in office. But until recently there was hope that the rank and file would be given a chance to rejuvenate their movement.

The ruling, enacted through an amendment to an anti-terror law, is legally questionable. It reeks of the kind of dirty tricks that Bangladeshi politicians have long used to thwart their opponents. It risks throwing Bangladesh back into a cycle of retribution, in which whoever is in office uses their power to nobble challengers.

Bangladesh’s leaders should unban the Awami League and let it contest a fair election. Many citizens would find that deeply unpalatable—but not everyone in Bangladesh’s oldest party is tainted. The League still draws considerable support, including from minority groups. After years of dodgy elections, these voters deserve the right to make a mark for whomever they like.

The party would not win, even if allowed to campaign freely. But its presence in parliament might bolster the opposition, which would help keep the victors on their toes. Building a new Bangladesh requires reconciliation, not revenge. ■