Bangladesh economic woes cast shadow over election

Bangladesh is holding a general election on Sunday, January 7, a vote tarnished by an opposition boycott and concerns over fairness and inclusiveness.   

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling Awami League party are seeking a fourth consecutive term. Critics allege she is suppressing the opposition and undermining the process for a free and fair election.

Hasina's time in office has seen mass arrests of her political opponents and human rights sanctions against her security forces.

The leader of the South Asian country's main opposition party, 78-year-old Khaleda Zia, is in ailing health and confined in a hospital after graft charges saw her sentenced to a 17-year prison term in 2018.

Many of the top leaders from her party are also behind bars.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is boycotting the polls, saying it doesn't have any confidence in the premier's administration to hold a free and fair election.

The ruling party has rejected the opposition's demands for a neutral caretaker government to oversee the polls.

What are the top issues on people's minds?

However, many Bangladeshis DW spoke to across the country seem to be more concerned about issues like inflation and economic development than political plurality.

Smriti Rani Das has been working at a garment factory in Mohammadpur, a suburb of the capital, Dhaka, for over two years.

She earns 8,700 takas ($79) a month, slightly higher than the industry's minimum wage.

The textile sector is crucial to Bangladesh's economy — about 3,500 garment factories account for around 85% of its $55 billion in annual exports, supplying many of the world's top brands including Levi's, Zara and H&M.

In recent months, however, Bangladesh has seen massive street protests by thousands of workers demanding higher wages.

The demonstrations forced authorities to raise the minimum monthly wage for garment workers   from 8,000 taka to 12,500 taka.

But some protesters said the 56% increase was too small. They're demanding a 23,000 taka minimum.

Smriti Rani Das and her husband, who is also a textile worker, run a family of five. She says it's been difficult for them to make ends meet.

"My kid's education is getting expensive. Prices of rice, vegetables and edible oil are rising. It's tough for us to cope with the price hikes with our income," she said.

A recent World Bank report said that rising food prices are a major concern for 71% of Bangladeshi families.

Food inflation stood at over 12.5% in November, the highest in a decade.

Rising food and commodity prices threaten to push many Bangladeshis back into poverty.

Inflation hurting the poor and underprivileged

Das said she hopes the January 7 election will usher in a change.

But she noted that she won't be able to cast her ballot, as she's registered as a voter in her hometown Sylhet, which is about 143 miles (230 kilometers) from Dhaka.

Khokon, a rickshaw driver in the capital, is also worried about the price rises.

"We are unable to earn money like we used to in the past. Passengers pay us less now as they don't have enough to spend," he told DW.

Khokon pointed to irregularities during the last general election in 2018 and said he wasn't sure if he could exercise his right to vote at least this time around.

"I was not able to vote during the last election. I was told my vote had already been cast by someone else. I don't know if I could vote this time as well."

He was also disheartened by the opposition boycott. 

"Even if I vote, the candidates belong to the same party. They are all the same," the rickshaw driver said.

Shantanu Majumder, a political science professor at Dhaka University, said that he also believes voters are more concerned about the economy than concerns over democratic backsliding.

"The price rises have been severely impacting the lives of the general public, especially the low-income groups. They are depleting the middle class's savings."

Inflation will remain a major issue even after the election, Majumder said.

Mass arrests and human rights concerns

Meanwhile, there's a lot of hustle and bustle at the court premises in Dhaka where opposition activists and their lawyers are busy seeking bail.

Police have stepped up arrests of BNP leaders and activists over the past few months following deadly anti-government protests in late October.

The opposition party says nearly 25,000 of its activists have been detained so far and many more are on the run.

They accuse the authorities of clamping down on the opposition using trumped-up charges. 

Sultana Kamal, a human rights advocate, questioned whether the mass arrests were necessary.  

"Arresting someone first and proving them a criminal later is a complete violation of law and human rights. They cannot do that," she told DW.

"We have heard from the relatives of the detained BNP activists, and we have also observed that they have been searching for their loved ones in different jails because they don't know their whereabouts and they couldn't find them," she said.

"From a human rights perspective, putting people in such suffering is unacceptable," she added. 

Kamal also pointed to some court verdicts being delivered unexpectedly fast, which she considers an example of how "the judiciary of the country has been used for political purposes."

"We say justice delayed is justice denied. But, it's also said that justice hurried is justice buried. We suspect this is what has been happening on some occasions."

Many skeptical about democratic future

As election day comes closer, people appear to be increasingly reluctant to travel, fearing political violence during and after the polling.

The Gabtoli bus terminal, one of Dhaka's transport hubs, has become quieter.

Tanusri Das, a 24-year-old student, was among the handful of passengers waiting to board a bus to travel to her hometown, Rajbari.

She said she wants to vote in the election. 

"Many of my friends were not able to cast their votes during the last election. But I somehow managed to cast my vote after going to my polling booth. I hope to vote this time as well," she told DW.

Das said Hasina's administration has managed to invest in and improve Bangladesh's physical infrastructure.

But the student remains skeptical about the country's democratic future. She pointed out that the authorities have restricted the media and free speech, so many people are afraid to openly and freely criticize or talk about government policies and performance. 

"The BNP is Bangladesh's one of the biggest and most powerful political parties. When an election is held without them… it defies democracy. I won't say it will be good or bad, but we have to wait and see if democracy will prevail or not."

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru