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Shifting Tides in South Asia: Bangladesh’s Failed Election
- Journal of Democracy
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 25, Number 2, April 2014
- pp. 119-130
- 10.1353/jod.2014.0034
- Article
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Abstract:
The 10th Parliamentary election in Bangladesh held on 5 January 2014 produced a parliament with opposition party. The election, boycotted by the main opposition party the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), delivered a two-thirds majority to the incumbent Awami League (AL). The election result and behavior of the ruling party both pre- and post- election indicates that the future for a multi-party inclusive democratic process in Bangladesh is facing a serious setback. This paper argues t hat since democratization process began in 1991 Bangladeshi politics revealed symptoms of hybrid regimes, but a non-inclusive flawed election is a step back from the democratization process and it may lead the country to a de facto one-party authoritarian state.