Opposition BNP calls for 48-hour general strike from Saturday against Jan 7 elections in Bangladesh

Dhaka: Bangladesh's main opposition party BNP on Thursday called for a 48-hour nationwide general strike starting Saturday to protest against the January 7 general election, which it is boycotting.

Led by former prime minister Khalida Zia, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is boycotting the general election on Sunday. It is demanding an interim non-party neutral government to hold the election. The demand was rejected by the government headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is heading the ruling Awami League.

BNP Joint Senior Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the general strike at a press conference on Thursday, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The BNP aims to garner support for its non-cooperation movement against the Awami Party-led dispensation through the strike. It has urged people not to pay taxes and utility bills to press its demand for a non-party interim government for election oversight by amending the country’s Constitution.

Through the strike, which will end at 6 am on Monday, the opposition party is also demanding the release of its leaders, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who were arrested over charges of violence.

Police arrested thousands of opposition activists and figures after, according to Human Rights Watch, at least 16 people died and thousands were injured in the past three months, when dozens of vehicles, including buses and trucks, were set on fire in political violence.

At a previous virtual press briefing, Rizvi said the BNP would hold processions and conduct mass campaigns across the country on Friday in protest against the election.

Since October 29, the BNP has been holding intermittent nationwide strikes and transport blockades.

The party had boycotted the 2014 election but took part in 2018 polls, which party leaders later said was a mistake, alleging that the voting was marred with widespread rigging and intimidation.

Bangladesh has deployed armed forces to assist the administration in holding the upcoming national election in a free, fair, and peaceful manner.

The US and other major Western countries called for dialogue between the ruling Awami League and particularly with the BNP to ensure an inclusive and credible election, which saw no headway due to reluctance from both sides.

With the BNP boycotting the election and no other credible opposition party against it, Hasina's Awami League is likely to gain the upper hand and will likely form the government for the fourth consecutive term.