Bangladesh - November 2022

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is mobilizing against the ruling Awami League (AL) in preparation for the parliamentary elections next year. The BNP has held public rallies in response to the recent economic crisis in the country and has accused the AL government of election rigging and voter fraud in the last two general elections. As a response, there has been a significant increase in repression by the authorities over the past few weeks, who have arrested many political activists at these opposition-led rallies. This has raised concerns about a significant increase in the level of political violence and harassment, something that has marred previous electoral seasons. In August, BNP rallies were attacked in multiple districts, and local party offices and homes of BNP leaders were vandalized. These attacks, with the help of police in many cases, appear to be aimed at creating fear in the opposition camp.

Sources: The Diplomat (1), The Diplomat (2), The Daily Star, Human Rights Watch