Challenges Tarique Rahman must confront
We are passing through a time when Bangladesh stands at a crucial crossroads in its history. In 2024, a historic mass uprising ended the Awami League government’s fifteen-year rule, and within a few months, Bangladesh is moving towards an election. Just as the country’s history holds the glorious chapter of the Liberation War, it also bears the cries of justice lost in the dark alleys of power. More than half a century after independence, the nation is still searching for a stable democracy in which every branch of the state works for the people’s welfare, and politics reflects ethics and morality. Yet the people of this country have repeatedly witnessed electoral farce, capture of polling centres, ballot-stuffing and violence. From national to by-elections and countless local polls, many have been questioned over time. Political disputes centring on elections have become a permanent feature of Bangladesh, eroding public trust in the process and often putting democracy itself in doubt.
