NEW DELHI: Former Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina on Friday claimed that next month’s elections would neither be free nor fair, in her first public address since being sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity.
Read More: Campaigning starts for first election after Hasina’s ouster
Bangladesh, home to 170 million people, is scheduled to hold elections on February 12 to choose a new government after a period of political turmoil following Hasina’s ouster in August 2024. The 78-year-old Hasina fled to India after a student-led uprising ended her 15-year rule, which critics described as autocratic, and she has not been seen publicly since.
Sheikh Hasina slams the Bangladesh government says ‘Bangladesh will never experience free and fair elections until the shadow of the Yunus clique is lifted from the people of Bangladesh’@ShreyaOpines gets you more on this pic.twitter.com/0dLuxwc8s4
— WION (@WIONews) January 23, 2026
In an audio message broadcast from New Delhi, Hasina warned that “Bangladesh stands today at the edge of an abyss, a nation battered and bleeding,” adding that “democracy is now in exile.”
In November, a Dhaka court convicted Hasina of incitement, ordering killings, and failing to prevent atrocities, sentencing her to death. Her former ruling party, the Awami League, once the country’s most influential political force, has been outlawed.
She called on Bangladeshis to “defend and restore the constitution written in the blood of martyrs, reclaim our independence, safeguard our sovereignty, and revive our democracy.”
Hasina also criticised her longtime rival, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who returned from exile to lead a caretaker government after her ouster. Yunus is expected to step down after the polls. Hasina stated: “Bangladesh will never experience free and fair elections until the shadow that Yunus casts is lifted from the people of Bangladesh.”
Read More: India Bangladesh relations strained ahead of Bangladesh elections
Official campaigning by Bangladeshi political parties began on Thursday. Observers say Hasina’s remarks are likely to further strain ties between New Delhi and Dhaka, which have deteriorated since her removal from power.