Bans and boycotts: The troubled history of Bangladesh’s elections

Since independence in 1971, only a handful of the country’s elections have been considered ‘free and fair’.

On Sunday, Bangladesh, a nation of 170 million people, will go to the polls to elect a new government in the country’s 12th general election.

But in a country with a chequered history of violence and protests against dubious polls, the vote is already courting controversy.

Since 1971, when the country broke away from Pakistan, only four of Bangladesh’s 11 elections have been considered to be “free and fair”. The rest have frequently been mired in violence, protests and allegations of vote rigging.

This year, following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s refusal to accept the opposition Bangladesh National Party’s (BNP) demands for a neutral caretaker government to conduct the polls, the BNP has chosen to boycott the elections. Caretaker governments have in the past delivered results generally considered credible – and, usually, a win for the opposition.

There is widespread speculation that this vote – which could see Hasina win a fourth consecutive and a fifth overall term in office – will be tampered with. Again.