Impact Talk: Upcoming Bangladesh National Election

Being a Westminster democracy, parliamentary elections are held every five years under the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh, national election is used as an instrument to legitimize the government and realize democracy, which is one of the four constitutional principles of Bangladesh. In 1970, twenty-three years after the decolonisation of Pakistan, the liberation war of Bangladesh gained momentum with the first general elections held over there. Throughout Bangladesh's tumultuous history of democracy, no election could be held free and fair enough under the incumbent government. Caretaker government system, introduced by the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, proved an effective mechanism per se against massive election rigging until the 15th Amendment abrogated it. Ironically, both the military and democratic regimes manipulated the electoral processes to perpetuate their power.
With Bangladesh's 12th parliamentary election set for early January 2024, the political appeal for the installation of an interim government has thrown the country into turmoil on the streets and in politics. In the absence of political compromise, Bangladesh's parliamentary election ‘constitutionally’ scheduled in January is unlikely to repair the country’s sheer political divisions. An inclusive election and constitutional resilience seem to be at a crossroads, which hardly underscores democracy and people's government. The upcoming election has already generated unprecedented attention at home and abroad, compared to the previous two. Long before the election schedule was announced, the international communities were also talking about the election, along with the political parties and electorate.
This webtalk will shed the light on multiple legal and political issues concerned with the said election.

Die Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit leistet mit dieser vom Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) geförderten Veranstaltung einen Beitrag dazu, die Ziele der 2015 von den Vereinten Nationen verabschiedeten Agenda 2030, insbesondere im Bereich Menschenrechte und Rechtsstaatlichkeit, bekannter zu machen.

Gast
Professor Naseem Akhter Hussain
is the former Faculty in Department of Government & Politics at Jahangirnagar University (JU) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She did her Ph.D in Anthropology from Macquarie University, Australia. She also completed her MS from University of New South Wales, Australia. Ms. Hussain is now an Adjunct Faculty at North South University in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Gast
Dr M Sakhawat Hussain
is the former Election Commissioner of Bangladesh (2007-2012). He is a retired Brigadier General in the Bangladesh Army. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at South Asian Institute for Policy and Governance (SIPG) from North South University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Mr. Hussain serves as a columnist and freelance commentator as a security and defense analyst.

Gast
Professor Md Rabiul Islam
is the Ph.D (fellow) at City University of Hong Kong. He is the Professor in Department of Law & Justice at Jahangirnagar University (JU) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He also completed his LLM from Central European University, at Budapest-Vienna. Mr. Islam is an advisor to Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), regularly writes in renowned Bangladeshi dailies and a rights-activist.