Exiled leader Hasina denounces upcoming Bangladesh polls after party ban

Ousted premier says the exclusion of her Awami League party “deepens resentment” on Muhammad Yunus’s interim government.Published On 29 Jan 2026Bangladesh’s toppled leader Sheikh Hasina has denounced her country’s election next month after her party was barred from participating in the polls, raising fears of wider political division and possible unrest.In a message published by The Associated Press news agency on Thursday, Hasina said “a government born of exclusion cannot unite a divided nation.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Thousands of forced disappearances under Hasina rule in Bangladesh: Inquirylist 2 of 3Does the Awami League have a future in Bangladesh?list 3 of 3Bangladesh’s latest election battlegrounds: TikTok, Facebook, YouTubeend of listHasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia for her crackdown on a student uprising in 2024 that killed hundreds of people and led to the fall of her 15-year government, has been sharpening her critique of the interim government of Nobel Peace winner Muhammad Yunus in recent days, as the election that will shape the nation’s next chapter looms.“Each time political participation is denied to a significant portion of the population, it deepens resentment, delegitimises institutions and creates the conditions for future instability,” the former leader, who is living in exile in India, warned in her email to the AP.She also claimed that the current Bangladesh government deliberately disenfranchised millions of her supporters by excluding her party – the former governing Awami League – from the election.More than 127 million people in Bangladesh are eligible to vote in the February 12 election, widely seen as the country’s most consequential in decades and the first since Hasina’s removal from power after the mass uprising.Yunus’s government is overseeing the process, with voters also weighing a proposed constitutional referendum on sweeping political reforms.