Awami League fails to secure victory even after so many tactics

13 July 2001 was a special day for Bangladesh. On that day, the parliamentary session chamber was festive. At 9:35pm, when Speaker Advocate Abdul Hamid read out the President's order to adjourn the session, history was made at that very moment. Bangladesh was then 30 years old. In those 30 years, no prior parliament had been able to complete its term. The first session of the seventh national parliament began on 13 July 1996, and ended on 13 July 2001. On the first day, the main opposition party, BNP, walked out. They were also absent on the final day.

The first parliamentary election in Bangladesh was held in 1973. This parliament lasted two and a half years. During Ziaur Rahman's time, the second parliamentary election took place in 1979, with a duration of 2 years and 11 months. The third parliamentary election was held during Ershad's time, in 1986, lasting about a year and a half. The fourth parliament, elected in 1988, was dissolved two years and seven months later in 1990. The fifth parliament, elected in 1991, lasted four years and eight months. The sixth parliament, formed through the election of 15 February 1996, was dissolved after 12 days.

The ruling Awami League had planned a celebration to mark the completion of their five-year term. However, after Speaker Humayun Rasheed Chowdhury passed away on 10 July, the celebratory events were canceled. I was working at Daily Ittefaq at the time, responsible for writing daily reports on parliamentary sessions. I witnessed the last day of the session.

On the final day, a proposal was passed thanking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and cabinet members for significant socio-economic development in Bangladesh due to their able leadership over the long five-year period. Parliament was officially dissolved at exactly 12:01 AM. At the same moment, BNP organised massive celebrations and victory processions nationwide to mark the "end of Awami misrule."

Despite completing a full five-year term, the period was not entirely smooth. The opposition parties, including BNP, were absent from parliament for the last year and a half. As a result, the parliament, which was somewhat lively initially, lost its vibrancy later, with several significant incidents occurring during that time.

For example, on 6 March 1999, a bomb blast during the twelfth conference of the Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi at Jashore Town Hall ground killed 10 people. On 20 January 2001, a bomb blast at a CPB rally at Paltan, Dhaka, killed 4 people. On 14 April of the same year, a bomb blast at the Ramna Batamul celebration of the Bengali New Year organised by Chhayanaut killed 9 people. On 3 June, a bomb explosion at a Roman Catholic church in Baniarchar village, Gopalganj, killed 10 people. Following that, on 16 June, a bomb blast at the Awami League office in Narayanganj killed 21 people.

During the Awami League's tenure, Bangladesh was declared the most corrupt country in the world for the first time according to a global report by Transparency International (TI). This declaration came from Paris on 27 June 2001. On 28 June, the Dhaka University Senate passed a condemnation motion against Transparency International on this issue (Bangladesher Tarikh, Muhammad Habibur Rahman). For the next four consecutive years, Bangladesh continued to be the world's most corrupt country.

On 13 February, a dawn-to-dusk hartal was called by the four-party alliance, including BNP, demanding the government's resignation and other issues. In response, the Awami League organised a ''peace procession.'' The processions of the two parties faced off at Malibagh. When gunfire erupted, four people, including a police constable, were killed. Although responsibility was blamed on each other, pictures published the following day in major dailies showed that shots were fired from the procession of Awami League MP HBM Iqbal. Prothom Alo published multiple pictures showing gunfire. The next day, Prothom Alo published photos and identities of four people firing guns, with the headline "Terrorist Faces in Iqbal''s Procession." Despite facing widespread criticism, no action was taken against Iqbal.

The godfather of Feni, Joynal Hazari, was another terrorist figure. This Awami League MP had turned Feni into a land of terrorism and managed a large terrorist force. On 25 January, some members of the Hazari force (known as the Class Committee) brutally beat and left for dead the then UNB district correspondent Tipu Sultan for writing news about Joynal Hazari's activities. To save him from long-term disability, Prothom Alo and Daily Star established a support fund to send Tipu Sultan to Bangkok for treatment.

On 26 June, Joynal Hazari used crude language to verbally attack Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman in the national parliament. Although senior leaders of the Awami League were present in parliament at the time, none stopped Hazari. Tipu Sultan is now working for Prothom Alo and has become one of the country's most established journalists.

Besides this, the son of State Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Dipu Chowdhury, and the then Chief Whip Hasanat Abdullah's son Sadik Abdullah also gained notoriety for terrorist activities at that time. Sadik Abdullah later became the mayor of Barisal.

Hussain Muhammad Ershad, the former military ruler, was jailed throughout the previous BNP regime. The 1996 Awami League government was formed with the support of the Jatiya Party. As a reward, he was released on bail on 9 June 1997.

After that, from 1999, the four-party alliance with BNP began boycotting parliament and movements to topple the government, in which the Jatiya Party was also involved. This angered the Awami League government, and Ershad was jailed again on 20 November 2000, after being convicted in the Janata Tower corruption case. On 6 February of the following year, the High Court declared Ershad's parliamentary seat vacant due to moral turpitude. From then on, the situation changed again. On 9 April 2001, he was released on bail.

Basically, in order to break the movement of the four parties, Awami League reached a secret agreement with Ershad. On 24 March, he dramatically fell ill while in jail, was moved to Bangabandhu Medical University Hospital, and on 25 March, met with party leaders there. On 27 March, the Jatiya Party's parliamentary team met at the hospital. Prothom Alo wrote in an editorial titled "Ershad and the Government" on 28 March 2001: "There is no reason to doubt that this political meeting in prison was held according to the government's decision and strategy. We believe, the ruling party's strategy is an expression of dirty politics."

Afterward, on 29 March 20 Jatiya Party MPs joined the parliamentary session for the first time in almost two years.

It was already decided that the election would be under a caretaker government. At the time, the thought of abolishing the caretaker government system had not entered Sheikh Hasina's mind. Therefore, before the election, different preparations were made. Desirable individuals were appointed to top positions in the administration, district administration, and various police stations. Former secretary Shafiur Rahman, who expressed solidarity at Janatar Moncho, was appointed as the Election Commissioner. Apart from this, special laws were made for herself.

For instance, on 20 June, the "Father of the Nation's Family Members'' Security Act-2001" was passed in parliament. According to this law, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana would receive special security from the Special Security Force (SSF) as very important persons for life, and the government will arrange housing for each member of the Sheikh family for protection.

Then, on 2 July, it was decided in the cabinet that for security reasons, Sheikh Hasina would reside in Ganabhaban, and on 3 July, a decision was made to give Sheikh Rehana a house in Dhanmondi. On 6 July, Sheikh Hasina said she would reside in Ganabhaban as long as she was in politics. Facing widespread criticism, Sheikh Hasina left Ganabhaban on 16 August, after the caretaker government took charge.

It's worth mentioning that Sheikh Hasina returned as Prime Minister to Ganabhaban in 2009, and it was from this Ganabhaban that she fled to India on 5 August 2024, in the face of a student-people's uprising.

Speaking from my experience as a journalist that time, both leaders of the two parties were traveling across the country, campaigning for the election. To gather information on this campaign, I went to Chattogram with a group of journalists on 11 September. Sheikh Hasina was receiving special security. Unlike before, she couldn't mingle with ordinary people in the election campaign, and the general voters had to remain at a safe distance, causing dissatisfaction among them.

I particularly remember the memories of Feni from so many years later. I went there on 12 September. Joynal Hazari was absconding then. Various terrorist incidents had been occurring in Feni for several days, creating a tense atmosphere. On top of that, there was intense rain. There was a fear of attacks at any time, even against journalists. Rumours spread that there was gunfire against Sheikh Hasina's motorcade. Due to this rumour, Awami League activists in Dhaka vandalised several vehicles. Until we left Feni, none of us felt relieved.

“In the election, the Awami League contested independently. Twenty-three former MPs were not given nominations. Under BNP leadership, four parties divided the seats: BNP contested 251 seats, Jamaat-e-Islami 30 seats, Jatiya Party (Naziur) 11 seats, and the Islami Oikya Jote fielded candidates in 7 seats. Meanwhile, the Islami Oikya Front, led by Ershad’s Jatiya Party, nominated 288 candidates. Another party in this front was the Islami Shashontontro Andolon.”

The election was relatively peaceful, and BNP emerged victorious from that election. On 2 October, the main headline of Daily Prothom Alo was "BNP and Four-Party Alliance's Massive Victory." Below that was written: "Vote casting took place in a festive manner, peaceful voting, sporadic violence in some places, large voter turnout, including women." Another headline that day was, "Voting postponed in 137 centres across the country, 5 killed in Barisal, Bhola, and Shariatpur."

The four-party alliance led by BNP won more than two-thirds of the seats in the election. In the election, 28 ministers and state ministers of the Awami League, 52 former MPs, and 24 retired bureaucrats were defeated.

Ershad's led Jatiya Party won 14 seats, Jamaat won 17 seats.

After the election, the old tradition of not accepting results was seen again. On 3 October, Sheikh Hasina rejected the election results, stating, "The results were overturned by gross, not subtle, manipulation."

The next day she said again, "We won't take the oath, won't go to parliament, want re-election." Meanwhile, having congratulated Khaleda Zia, Ershad secretly fled to London. On 10 October, Khaleda Zia took oath as the new prime minister.

Sources: Various issues of Prothom Alo, Sangramer Notebook, "Bangladesher Tarikh," Volumes 1 and 2, Muhammad Habibur Rahman, and the Election Commission.

*This article, originally published in Prothom Alo print and online editions, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam