Lord Carlile warns Bangladesh election will lack credibility without Awami League’s participation
A strong warning from British peer Lord Carlile of Berriew CBE KC has cast fresh scrutiny on Bangladesh’s upcoming national election, after a Prothom Alo commissioned survey revealed that a majority of respondents support allowing the banned Awami League (AL) to contest, despite low expectations of the party winning.
Responding to the survey findings, Lord Carlile criticised Bangladesh’s current political and judicial environment, saying the election “will have no credibility” if major parties remain banned and if what he described as an “unfair trial process” continues. “No surprises there. The election will have no credibility if parties are banned and if the unfair trial process continues. Guilty people should be convicted, of course, but properly. The current process has no credibility. I am astonished that they don’t see that this is just a revolving door of bad politics and law.”
His comments follow a survey conducted by Keymakers Consulting Limited for Prothom Alo, titled National Public Opinion Survey 2025 on Important Socio-Political Issues, which found that 69.2% of respondents favour allowing the Awami League to participate in the upcoming election either unconditionally or under specific conditions. According to the poll, 27.8% support unconditional participation, while 26% say the party should be allowed only after punishment and reform, and 14.8% favour entry if the AL issues a formal apology. An additional small fraction prefers stricter conditions, while 28% oppose the party’s participation entirely.
On 17 November, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Sheikh Hasina, the ousted prime minister and Awami League president, along with former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, to death for crimes against humanity. Earlier, in May, the interim government imposed a blanket ban on all activities of the Awami League and its affiliated bodies pending the tribunal’s proceedings.
Lord Carlile’s remarks highlight growing international concerns that Bangladesh’s electoral process risks losing legitimacy if bans on political parties and disputed judicial actions continue unchecked.
