Dhaka
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the country’s largest opposition party, has intensified its opposition to the government by declaring non-cooperation in an effort to disrupt the upcoming general elections scheduled for January 7, 2024. This move follows a series of blockades and strikes initiated by the BNP since October. During a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the party’s decision and urged people from all walks of life and the administration not to cooperate with the government. Additionally, the BNP called for a boycott of the election and advised citizens not to pay taxes moving forward. BNP acting Chairman Tarique Rahman declared the movement as a response to the government’s failure to meet their demand for national polls under a non-party caretaker government. Rizvi accused the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL) party of moving towards holding a dummy election on January 7. Bangladeshi Law Minister Anisul Huq labeled the BNP’s demand as unconstitutional. A total of 1,886 candidates, including 1,529 from 27 parties, are contesting in the general election for 300 constituencies, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s AL party among the participants. Additionally, 357 candidates are running independently. The ongoing opposition movement, initiated in late October, has resulted in reports of vandalism, arson attacks, and clashes between police and workers almost daily in Dhaka and other parts of the country. On Tuesday, unidentified individuals set fire to three coaches of a passenger train in Dhaka, resulting in four casualties. In response to the continued violence, army personnel will be deployed across Bangladesh to assist the civil administration in ensuring security leading up to the elections.
