A lot is riding on Bangladesh’s general election due to be held on January 7. The next instalment in the political journey has been marred with accusations of political meddling and state violence. The beleaguered opposition mourns “Democracy is dead,” citing reservations about the outcome tilting in favour of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, its demand for the resignation of the executive and the installation of an interim government becomes all the more pertinent. A wave of turmoil is sweeping across the streets with millions showing signs of increasing desperation, but no political compromise is in sight. Heart-wrenching visuals and first-hand accounts implicate both sides: police have been repeatedly assaulting unarmed citizenry as charged mobs beat police officers, set hospitals ablaze and attacked government installations. Meanwhile, detentions of political rivals and civil society activists are on the rise. Over 400 have been sentenced since last month. More worrying development has arisen from the higher judiciary as it upheld a ban on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. The implications of a buzzing iron fist-in-velvet glove on the fairness of polls have become the central mantra of the opposition’s election manifesto. Despite a determined, well-oiled machinery trying its level best to dispel the ground realities, many among the international community have stepped into the ring, mumbling improvements to the democratic system. The political arena has been tainted by an array of governance systems, where one-party rule and its adjoining clout of oligarchs make light of the financial gains. Considering the last supposed free and fair election took place in 2008 (2014 and 2018 general polls were full of rigging controversies), it would have served Ms Hasina and the governing Bangladesh Awami League well to step away and appoint a neutral setup. A functioning democracy, which could help establish greater accountability and transparency, might offer a country full of young people a much-needed dose of rational optimism. *