From an undisclosed location in New Delhi, Bangladesh's deposed and convicted former leader, Sheikh Hasina, has publicly denounced next month’s general election, branding it fundamentally illegitimate and unfair. In a prepared statement, Hasina, who fled to India following her government's violent ouster in 2024, claimed "democracy is now in exile" and argued that the vote cannot be free while her Awami League party is barred from participation. This intervention from a fugitive sentenced to death for crimes against humanity has further strained Bangladesh's relations with its neighbor, which is accused of sheltering a figure widely blamed for the nation's recent turmoil.
Her accusations of a rigged process have been met with widespread derision, given her own government's authoritarian record. The election on February 12, the first since the 2024 "July Revolution" ended Hasina's 15-year rule, is being administered by a caretaker government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who has pledged a free and fair vote. International observers, including the European Union, have labeled it the "biggest democratic process of 2026". Hasina's assertion that her party would win "massive support" if allowed to run stands in stark contrast to the mass protests that demanded and achieved its removal for what was widely described as "fascist rule".
Hasina's government was toppled after a brutal, deadly crackdown on student-led protests, an action for which she was later convicted of crimes against humanity. While she has expressed regret for lives lost, she has simultaneously justified the state violence as necessary to protect national institutions from what she claims was a "hijacked" movement. The public demand for accountability was so powerful it sparked a separate protest movement in May 2025 specifically demanding the Awami League be banned as a "terrorist and treasonous organization," a demand the interim government eventually met by suspending all party activities pending a full trial.
This context renders her current defense of democratic principles highly cynical. Human rights organizations note that while the interim government's use of anti-terror laws to suppress dissent is concerning, it mirrors tactics perfected under Hasina's own administration. Her claim that banning her party strips "millions of Bangladeshis of their voting rights" ignores the fact that her government systematically dismantled electoral competition, jailed opponents, and oversaw a period where, as analysts note, the state itself was "captured" by her party. In essence, her plea for electoral inclusion is a plea to return to a system of unilateral control, rebranded by critics as "authoritarianism in the guise of transformation".
The ultimate irony of Hasina's position is her refuge in India, a nation she once relied on as a key ally but which now finds itself diplomatically compromised. Her presence there has become a flashpoint, souring relations with Dhaka and fueling allegations of foreign interference aimed at destabilizing Bangladesh's fragile transition. As the nation moves toward a pivotal vote and a concurrent referendum on constitutional reforms designed to prevent a return to one-party rule, Hasina's critique from across the border serves not as a legitimate warning but as a potent symbol of the very authoritarianism the country is trying to escape.