Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party took part in a rally in the capital, Dhaka, demanding an overhaul of the electoral system.
The South Asian nation is expected to head to the polls next year as it stands at a crossroads after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
On Saturday, Jamaat-e-Islami placed a seven-point demand on the country’s interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election, justice for all mass killings, essential reforms and the proclamation and implementation of a charter involving last year’s mass uprising.
The party also said it wants the introduction of a proportional representation system in the election.
Thousands of supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami spent the night on the Dhaka University campus before the rally.
On Saturday morning, braving the sweltering heat, they continued to stream towards Suhrawardy Udyan, a historical site where the Pakistani army surrendered to a joint force of India and Bangladesh on December 16, 1971, ending the nine-month war.
“We are here for a new Bangladesh, where Islam would be the guiding principle of governance, where good and honest people will rule the country, and there will be no corruption,” said Iqbal Hossain, 40.
“We will sacrifice our lives, if necessary, for this cause.”
‘No discrimination’
Some demonstrators wore T-shirts bearing the party’s logo, others sported headbands inscribed with its name, while many displayed metallic badges shaped like a scale – the party’s electoral symbol.
Many young supporters in their 20s and 30s were also present.
“Under Jamaat-e-Islami, this country will have no discrimination. All people will have their rights. Because we follow the path of the holy book – Quran,” said Mohidul Morsalin Sayem, a 20-year-old student.
“If all the Islamist parties join hands, soon, nobody will be able to take power from us.”
The party’s chief, Shafiqur Rahman, said the country’s struggle in 2024 was to eliminate “fascism”, but this time, there would be another fight against corruption and extortion.
“How will the future Bangladesh look like? There will be another fight … We will do whatever is necessary and win that fight,” Rahman said.
After Bangladesh’s independence, Jamaat, which sided with Pakistan during Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971, was banned.
It later re-emerged and registered its best electoral performance in 1991 when it secured 18 seats.
The party also joined a coalition government in 2001, but failed to build lasting popular support.
While Prime Minister Hasina was in power from 2009 until she was toppled in student-led protests last year and fled to India, top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were either executed or jailed on charges of crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in 1971.
Last month, the Supreme Court restored the party’s registration, paving the way for its participation in elections slated for next April.
In a statement on X, Hasina’s Awami League party reacted sharply to Yunus’s government allowing Saturday’s rally.
The statement said the move “marks a stark betrayal with the national conscience and constitutes a brazen act of undermining millions of people – dead and alive – who fought against the evil axis [in 1971]”.
The Yunus-led administration has banned the Awami League, and Hasina has been in exile in India since last August. She faces charges of crimes against humanity.
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