Episode description

Bangladesh is set to hold parliamentary elections next January. But only time will tell whether there will be real change at the top or whether the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League will remain in power.

In recent months there has been an increase in political protests calling for a neutral interim government ahead of the polls opening. But these protests have only resulted in increasing numbers of senior leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party being rounded up and put in jail.

Historically, the country has had a fractured relationship with democracy since its birth in 1971, but the government for their part has denied accusations of democratic backsliding.

So this week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Why is Bangladesh in turmoil?’

Contributors:

Sabir Mustafa, a former Editor of the BBC Bengali Service, now based in Washington DC, USA

Dr. Avinash Paliwal, Reader in International Relations, Department of Politics and International Relations, SOAS University of London

Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Politics and Government, Illinois State University, USA and non-resident Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council

Dr. Geoffrey MacDonald, Visiting Expert in the South Asia Programme, United States Institute of Peace, Washington DC, USA

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jordan King

Photo: Bangladesh Nationalist Party protest for Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, Dhaka -28th Oct 2023. Credit: Photo by MONIRUL ALAM/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock(14171078p)