Awami League will not be allowed to participate in Bangladesh election: interim government

A day after several lawmakers of the United States called on the interim government of Bangladesh to hold “inclusive elections,” a spokesperson for the interim government in Dhaka said on Wednesday (December 24, 2025) that the Awami League, led by deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, remains banned and will not be allowed to participate in the February 2026 elections.

“Regarding the Awami League, our position is clear,” said Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Wednesday (December 24) while addressing the press at the Foreign Service Academy, ruling out the party’s participation in the upcoming February 2026 election.

The comments from Mr. Alam has clarified the position of the interim administration regarding the Awami League’s participation in the polls. This will be the first time since 1971 that the party has been barred from contesting an election in Bangladesh’s history.

The interim government banned the Awami League’s political activities on May 11, 2025, and in October 2024, Chhatra League, the powerful student wing of the Awami League, was also banned. The party’s activities were further impacted by the death sentences handed down to Ms. Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal by the International Crimes Tribunal on November 17.

Subsequently, on several occasions, the interim government had maintained that “fugitives” would not be allowed to participate in the February 12, 2026, elections, but this is the first time that the interim government has explicitly outlined its policy on the Awami League in response to international figures.

Five U.S. lawmakers — House Foreign Affairs Committee Representative Gregory Meeks; Chairman of the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia Representative Bill Huizenga; Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia Sydney Kamlager-Dove; and Member of Congress Julie Johnson — on Tuesday (December 23) sent a letter to Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus, expressing concern over the exclusion of the Awami League as Bangladesh moves into election mode. In response to the letter, Mr. Alam said that he had not seen it, stating, “I am not aware of the letter.”

Ms. Hasina had earlier said, in her written interviews with the Indian media, that supporters of the Awami League would not vote in the election if the party of their choice were barred from participating in the polling process.