Do these elections indicate a strategy to beat populist politics?
India witnessed a tumultuous time between May 1996 and October 1999 when coalition governments came and left in quick succession.
Bangladesh, since 2018, has been classified as a 'moderate autocracy.'
Since the middle of the 2000s, the world has witnessed a precipitous decline in democratic countries. After almost three decades of proliferation of democratic governance, described by Samuel Huntington as the Third Wave of democracy, the third reverse wave is sweeping the globe.
Bangladesh’s declining score in the EIU Democracy Index should provide an opportunity to discuss not only how EIU has rated Bangladesh, but also how others have characterised the country’s state of democracy—or lack thereof.
The absence of democratic behaviour is no longer hidden under the carpet.
If AL’s victory in the 2014 election was a hollow one, the 2024 victory in the making is nothing short of a Pyrrhic one—a victory which inflicts so much damage that it cannot be considered worthwhile.
As the country is heading towards an exercise that the incumbent is calling an election, it is imperative that we understand what is in the making.
It cannot be ignored that the nation came to this day because a path to hold a fair election is absent, and that the current system of governance has undermined the citizens’ right to exercise their inalienable right to vote.
The question of whether the current EC can deliver a free and fair election should be explored based on two sets of criteria
Until now, there was no account from the government that provided a picture on the extent of the use of the law.
The government is not taking OHCHR recommendations about the law into account.
It is our moral duty to condemn the arrest of Samsuzzaman Shams and demand his immediate release.
Secretary Lu’s visit, against these backgrounds, reiterated the message of the past year that the US would like to see a fair and inclusive election in Bangladesh and that it is concerned about the shrinking civic space.
Looking back at 2022, experts on the South Asian political and economic landscape would highlight the ongoing economic crisis for understandable reasons.
The government has not only curtailed freedom of expression and assembly, but it has also used state institutions to silence its critics and political opponents in a brutal manner.
It is imperative that we pay respect to him but what we need to recall is what was written on his bare chest and back, writes Ali Riaz.
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the adoption of Bangladesh Constitution provides an opportunity to examine whether the country practised constitutionalism since the constitution came into effect.
