The Inquiry

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