UK MPs warn Bangladesh’s Feb 2026 polls cannot be democratic without participation of all parties

London, Jan 13
Four United Kingdom parliamentarians expressed serious concerns over the ban on widely supported political parties under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh ahead of the February polls, saying the move disregards guidance from the United Nations, as well as from the UK and the South Asian nation's other longstanding allies.

The British lawmakers from across party lines, including Bob Blackman, Jim Shannon, Jas Athwal, and Chris Law, stressed that the Yunus-led “unelected” interim government should not have imposed such restrictions on Bangladeshi voters and warned that any election excluding major political parties cannot be considered democratic.

In their statement, the parliamentarians said that Bangladesh stands at a crossroads ahead of the first national election in February 12 since the formation of the interim government in 2024, following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government.

“All right-minded people hope that these polls will contribute to a just, stable, and prosperous Bangladesh, but that will best be achieved if the election is genuinely participatory and preferably endorsed by impartial international observers,” the lawmakers stated.

They asserted that without free, fair, and inclusive elections, millions of ordinary Bangladeshis will be disenfranchised and simply will not vote at all.

“The country’s politics have been polarised for too long. All of Bangladesh’s parties share some of the blame for this. But in order to achieve national reconciliation—not to mention putting Bangladesh’s stalled economic development back on track—any future government needs to rule with the people’s genuine consent. Bangladesh must use these elections to establish a culture of political pluralism, in which opposition parties can constructively play a role,” the statement added.

Highlighting that the UK is one of Bangladesh’s closest trade and development partners, the lawmakers raised alarm, citing credible reports of “politically motivated detentions, systemic failures in the justice system and arbitrary arrests of members of the media”.

“We urge the British Government, as well as international bodies such as the UN, to continue calling on Yunus to uphold his commitment to democratic principles, protect the civil rights of all of Bangladesh’s citizens, and ensure that these elections are free, fair and inclusive,” the statement concluded.