February 6, 2025
DHAKA – The Awami League, once the most dominant political force in Bangladesh, now finds itself in an unfamiliar and precarious situation. Its leadership has fractured following its disgraced fall from power on August 5, 2024 in the face of the student-led mass uprising. The party is now attempting to find its footing again through a month-long protest programme. This raises a critical question: is the Awami League truly interested in working its way to democracy, or is it merely struggling to survive?
Awami League’s current predicament is largely of its own making. The party, which once led the country’s liberation struggle and positioned itself as a beacon of democracy, gradually turned into an authoritarian entity. Over the past decade, allegations of election manipulation, political repression and corruption eroded its credibility. The parliamentary elections in 2014, 2018 and 2024 were all marred by accusations of vote-rigging. Only a few months after the 2024 election, a mass uprising—which grew from a protest by students against the reinstatement of the quota system in government service—forced Sheikh Hasina’s government out of power. This ouster was not just a shift in governance, it was a clear rejection by the people of the party’s undemocratic practices and governance failures.
However, the party appears to have learnt little from its downfall. Its leaflet recently distributed to justify its protest movement offers little evidence of introspection or reform. The rhetoric remains unchanged, reflecting an outdated political mindset that fails to address the new realities in Bangladesh. There is a conspicuous absence of acknowledgement of the public grievances that led to its downfall, including the deaths of protesters during the July-August uprising. Instead of expressing condolences or seeking justice for those who lost their lives, the party remains focused on reclaiming power without addressing its past transgressions.
The hypocrisy in Awami League’s protests is evident. The very tactics it now condemns—mass arrests, suppression of dissent, and human rights abuses—were once cornerstones of its own governance strategy. When it was in power, Awami League showed little tolerance for opposition protests, often employing law enforcement agencies to suppress them. Now, finding itself on the receiving end of a similar treatment, it suddenly seeks to champion democratic rights. This selective outrage raises suspicions about the party’s true intentions.
Meanwhile, the interim government led by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has taken a firm stance, refusing to allow Awami League to hold demonstrations unless it takes responsibility for the human rights violations committed under its rule. The government insists that the party must first seek public forgiveness before re-entering mainstream politics. While some may claim this approach as being harsh, it underscores the need for accountability and political reform in Bangladesh.
The Awami League’s month-long protest includes demonstrations, strikes and blockades, citing grievances such as the arrest of its leaders, economic instability, and alleged human rights violations under the interim government. Even if some of these issues were valid, the party’s selective outrage diminishes its credibility. It must recognise that its own governance was rife with economic mismanagement, suppression of free speech, and political violence.
The party’s continued denial of public sentiment only worsens its predicament. Rather than acknowledging the people’s movement as a legitimate expression of frustration, it continues to frame it as a conspiracy. This deep-seated tendency to dismiss opposition as foreign or domestic sabotage was one of the key reasons it became so isolated from the people of the country. The fact that the Awami League has not shifted from this stance suggests either a deliberate refusal to change or a complete failure to grasp the current reality. If this trend persists, it will be increasingly difficult for the party to re-enter Bangladesh’s political mainstream in future.
If the Awami League wishes to regain credibility, it must first embark on a process of genuine self-reflection and reform. This means acknowledging past mistakes, removing corrupt elements, and rebuilding trust with the people it once alienated. Without these fundamental changes, its current movement risks being seen as nothing more than a desperate attempt to gain some relevance.
The responsibility of addressing Awami League’s misdeeds does not solely rest on the interim government. The political opposition must also rise to the occasion by mobilising public support through democratic means, rather than relying on government crackdowns to sideline Awami League. True political change in Bangladesh will come not through suppression, but through the people’s mandate.
Ultimately, Awami League’s protests reflect a party grappling with its own political survival rather than a genuine struggle for democracy. Unless it undergoes a sincere transformation, it will remain trapped in a cycle of political irrelevance, unable to reclaim the trust of the Bangladeshi people.
Mohammad Al-Masum Molla is a journalist at The Daily Star. He can be reached at masumjrn@gmail.com.
Views expressed in this article are the author’s own.