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1 1 (February 1, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveofj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: b\Congressional ____ A Research Service Parliamentary Elections in Bangladesh: Overview and Issues for Congress February 1, 2024 Overview Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority South Asian country of 167 million, held parliamentary elections on January 7, 2024, amid concerns about democratic backsliding and political violence. Incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League (AL) party secured a fourth consecutive term in a vote that major opposition parties boycotted. Strengthening democracy in Bangladesh is a stated aim of U.S. policy in the country. In advance of the elections, some outside observers criticized the ongoing government crackdown on the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other opposition forces, and some Members of Congress expressed concerns about human rights abuses in Bangladesh. The U.S. Department of State concluded that the elections were not free and fair and expressed concerns about reported irregularities and the arrests of thousands of political opposition members. Background Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy that conducts regular elections, though there are increasing concerns that it is becoming, or has already become, a one-party, hybrid regime that includes elements of authoritarianism and democracy. The ruling AL has increasingly dominated national politics since it was voted into power in 2009. When Prime Minister Hasina won her third consecutive term in December 2018, observers reported vote rigging, voter intimidation, and mass arrests of opposition activists. The State Department characterized the 2018 elections as improbably lopsided and marred by irregularities. The nongovernmental organization Freedom House assesses that the AL has consolidated political power through harassment of the opposition and its perceived allies, as well as of critical media and civil society voices, and designates the country as partly free. In advance of the 2024 parliamentary elections, observers raised concerns as to whether the AL would allow the elections to proceed freely and fairly. The months leading up to the elections saw violent protests and the arrests of thousands of opposition party members. The BNP and other opposition parties had called for a caretaker government to oversee the Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12314 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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