Shifting Tides in South Asia: Bangladesh’s Failed Election

Issue Date April 2014
Volume 25
Issue 2
Page Numbers 119-130
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The 10th Parliamentary election in Bangladesh held on 5 January 2014 produced a parliament with no opposition party. The election, boycotted by the main opposition party the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), delivered a two-thirds majority to the incumbent Awami League (AL). The election result and the behavior of the ruling party both pre- and post-election indicates that the future for a multi-party inclusive democratic process in Bangladesh is facing a serious setback. This paper argues that since democratization process began in 1991 Bangladeshi politics revealed symptoms of hybrid regimes,  but a non-inclusive flawed election is a step back from the democratization process and it may lead the country to a de facto one-party authoritarian state.

About the Author

Ali Riaz is professor of politics and government at Illinois State University. In 2013, he was a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. His books include Political Islam and Governance in Bangladesh (2010).

View all work by Ali Riaz