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As Bangladesh held its 12th parliamentary election on Sunday, contrasting opinions have emerged from two legal experts about this.
Dr Shahdeen Malik said the election was not competitive at all, while senior Supreme Court lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said it was very competitive.
They expressed their contrasting opinions on the election on Monday, a day after the election, while talking to reporters on the apex court premises.
“It cannot be called an election in the true sense,” Dr Malik said.
Raising concerns about the moral foundation of the upcoming government, he said, “The moral foundation of the government that the Awami League will form will be weak.
“If the moral foundation of a government is weak, it will be difficult for them to run the country properly.”
Comparing this election to that of 2018, he said, “We witnessed one kind of trickery during the 2018 national elections. This time we witnessed a new version of that trickery.”
Dr Malik believes that the government will continue as it is, and those close to the government will only benefit from some mega projects it may plan for in the future.
In contrast with what Dr Malik said, senior lawyer Khan said that the election stands out in the country’s history with a significant number of independent candidates elected, emphasising its true competitiveness.
He said, “It is unprecedented in the country’s history that a total of 62 independent candidates have been elected in the election.”
“It became possible only because the election was very competitive.”
He pointed out that there were no complaints from foreigners about the electoral procedure.
Since there was no foreigners’ complaint, ‘it is useless to make any threat in the name of sanctions,” Mr Khan added.
The Awami League has secured an absolute majority in this election amid a boycott by the BNP and its allies.
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