On the day the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) swept to victory, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina issued a blistering statement denouncing the election as a "pre-planned deception and farce", directly accusing the Muhammad Yunus-led administration of manipulating the vote to manufacture legitimacy.
In a detailed statement titled Election of Deception and Farce, released by the Bangladesh Awami League headquarters in Dhaka, Hasina said the February 12 polls would be remembered as "a disgraceful chapter" in the country's democratic history, alleging that the process was reduced to an "industrial-scale administrative exercise in manipulating numbers", rather than an expression of public will.
Hasina's sharpest criticism was reserved for Yunus, whom she described as heading an "illegal administration" that, she claimed, inflated turnout figures to cover up empty polling stations and public disengagement. "There were no voters at the polling stations, yet there were votes on the counting tables," she said, questioning the credibility of official data released by the Election Commission.
Citing official figures, Hasina pointed to what she called mathematically impossible surges in turnout. According to her statement, turnout reportedly jumped from 14.96 per cent by 11:00 a.m. to 32.88 per cent by noon – an increase that would require more than 380,000 votes per minute nationwide. She argued that such rates defy both logistical reality and Bangladesh's historical voting patterns, where participation is typically highest in the early morning hours.
The former prime minister also challenged the final declared turnout of 59.44 per cent, calling it "laughable" in light of widespread reports of deserted polling centres, inactive booths, and low participation among key voter groups. Her statement noted that only about 3 per cent of eligible prisoners and roughly 7 per cent of expatriate voters cast ballots, figures she said were incompatible with the Commission's overall claims.
Beyond statistics, Hasina alleged systematic abuse of state power. She accused the government of openly campaigning for a "Yes" vote, misusing public resources, and employing psychological tactics – such as ballot symbols – to influence voters. The absence of multiple signatures on result sheets and delays in publishing referendum results, she said, further deepened suspicions of post-poll data adjustment rather than transparent tabulation.
The statement also detailed alleged irregularities and violence on the eve of the vote, including reports of polling centres being seized, ballots stamped in advance, and result sheets signed before voting even began. On election day itself, Hasina cited accounts of clashes, ballot snatching, coercion, fake voting, and presiding officers casting ballots for preferred candidates across the country.
Drawing a contrast with past elections, Hasina said that while the BNP had previously boycotted polls and resorted to violence, the Awami League was "illegally banned and forcibly excluded" from this election. She maintained that her party called for a peaceful boycott, which she claimed the public followed, leaving Yunus's administration, in her words, no option but to inflate turnout figures.
Concluding her statement, Hasina issued a sweeping set of demands: annulment of what she called a "voterless, illegal, and unconstitutional" election; the resignation of Yunus; the release of political prisoners and detainees from civil society; the lifting of restrictions on Awami League activities; and the restoration of voting rights through a fresh election under a neutral caretaker government.
The statement, released amid celebrations by BNP supporters, underscores the depth of political polarisation in Bangladesh and signals that the legitimacy of the new government is likely to face sustained domestic and international scrutiny in the days ahead.
