In early January of this year, Khaleda Zia, leader of the BNP in Bangladesh and former Prime Minister, made an interesting Tweet in strong opposition to the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In the Tweet Zia states that the source of the Awami League Prime Minister’s power is the bullet, not the ballot. This was in reference to a poll which was conducted by the Awami League which was according to Zia, “voterless.”
The Tweet does a really good job at dealing a blow to the legitimacy of not only Hasina, but also her party. Zia makes her own political party, the BNP, look very good in this Tweet, taking the time to throw in the line “No compromise on democracy.” in the Tweet.
Interestingly, Zia attached a hashtag to the Tweet, “#voterlesspoll”
My question now is did Hasina or another member of the Awami League respond to this accusation? Has there been efforts to cover it up? The term “voterless poll” is quite absurd, but it is unsettling to think about the political power one can gain creating fake polls.
Not ballot but bullet is the source of Hasina’s power. Jan 5’s ‘disgraceful voterless poll’ is a cruel joke at our historic struggles for voting rights & back-stabbing our democratic progress.People shall choose their representatives, not conspirators. No compromise on democracy. pic.twitter.com/8GFWOycwkz
— Begum Khaleda Zia (@BegumZiaBd) January 4, 2018