Washington, Feb 6 (NationPress) A senior American scholar has asserted that the forthcoming national elections in Bangladesh will lack freedom and fairness, indicating that the exclusion of significant political parties has already undermined the democratic legitimacy of the process.

Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute think-tank, expressed to IANS that genuine elections necessitate open competition. “The only way to ensure free and fair elections in Bangladesh is for the mainstream political parties, which enjoy the support of the majority of Bangladeshis, to actually participate,” he stated.

According to Rubin, attempts to exclude the Awami League demonstrate political insecurity rather than adherence to democratic norms. “The desire of Mohammad Yunis (chief advisor) and Jamaat-e-Islami to ban the Awami League stems from their understanding that in a free and fair election, the Awami League would prevail,” he explained.

Previously, during a keynote speech at a conference regarding Bangladeshi elections hosted by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Rubin cautioned that Bangladesh could become a significant foreign policy dilemma for the United States.

“The crisis that appears to be unfolding resembles a slow-motion train wreck, and it revolves around the situation in Bangladesh,” Rubin indicated, arguing that Washington has failed to adopt a proactive stance concerning developments under Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who has been the chief adviser since August 8, 2024.

Challenging the prevailing narratives surrounding political unrest in Bangladesh in mid-2024, he asserted: “What we now understand is that the protests we observed were not spontaneous.”

He likened elections conducted under such circumstances to those seen in authoritarian regimes. “If you conduct an election while banning a party like the Awami League, you are effectively organizing an election similar to those previously witnessed in the Soviet Union or the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Rubin remarked.

Rubin also pointed to external interference, alleging that Pakistan continues to perceive Bangladesh as “East Pakistan” and asserted that Pakistani authorities have provided funding to a student-led political party aligned with Jamaat-e-Islami. He claimed that the evidence of such funding is robust, albeit largely underreported.

He cautioned that diplomatic isolation exacerbates misunderstandings. “It’s challenging for diplomats to venture beyond the embassy and grasp the reality of the societies they are meant to report on,” Rubin stated, contending that reliance on limited contact networks distorts US evaluations.