Will Jamaat-e-Islami capture Bangladesh in next election? It flexes its muscles by...

As Bangladesh’s largest Islamic political party Jamaat-e-Islami has made demands for the next elections, its leader Mujibur Rahman has strongly suggested that only Islamic laws should be followed in the national parliament in future, without any place for man-made ideas or systems. His remarks came at a public rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on Saturday which called for a seven-point demand, including “justice” for the August 2024 mass killings. The party demanded reforms ahead of the national elections, scheduled for February next year.

Its demands included agendas like ensuring level playing field, fundamental reforms, and holding elections through a PR system. The party wants a free, fair, impartial and peaceful elections, prosecuting all genocides by the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, necessary fundamental reforms, implementing the July Charter and Declaration, rehabilitating the families of those martyred and injured in the July Uprising. Jamaat also demanded that voting facilities be provided to more than 10 million expatriates.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman presided over the rally. Earlier in July, Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus directed the law-enforcing agencies to complete all preparations by December for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Besides, this time the members of police and other forces will be deployed for seven days instead of the traditional five days during the election in a bid to resist any sort of violence ahead of the vote and prevent the deterioration of law and order after the vote, said the press secretary. Earlier in June, Yunus hinted that national elections would be held in February in 2026. Meanwhile, India reiterated that elections in Bangladesh, scheduled for April 2026 should be credible, democratic, peaceful, and all-inclusive.

Responding to a query on Bangladesh general elections after former Bangladesh PM, Sheikh Hasina, was ousted in a student-led uprising in August last year, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in weekly media briefing said, "You know our point of view. We have said that as a democracy we would welcome holding of elections, that is inclusive and includes everybody in its fold."This comes after the recent agreement between the Chief Executive and a major political party on holding early elections.

(With inputs from ANI