Survey by VOA reveals 57% of Bangladeshis want Awami League to continue in Politics

A recent survey by Voice of America’s Bengali section reveals that most people in Bangladesh do not want the Awami League to be banned from politics. The survey comes after the government of Sheikh Hasina fell during widespread protests on August 5. 

Since then, some have called for the Awami League to be banned, but many others are against this idea.

According to the survey, 57% of Bangladeshis believe the Awami League should be allowed to continue its political activities. 

On the other hand, 35.5% of people are in favor of banning the party. The survey asked people whether the Awami League should be banned or allowed to stay in politics, and most respondents supported the latter.

The survey was conducted across Bangladesh from October 13 to 27, with 1,000 people aged 18 and older taking part. 

It was carried out by the research firm ORG-Quest Research Limited under the guidance of VOA‍‍`s Bengali editorial team. The margin of error for the survey is 3.1%.

Interestingly, the survey also showed that younger people, aged 18 to 34, were more likely to support banning the Awami League, with 39.9% of them in favor of it. 

In contrast, 30.8% of people aged 35 and older agreed with the idea of banning the party.

When asked whether Awami League leaders should be allowed to participate in politics, the responses were almost split. About 46.8% of people said the leaders should be banned from politics, while 45.8% believed they should be allowed to continue. 

Younger people were also more likely to want a ban on the leaders, with 52.1% of those aged 18 to 34 supporting this idea.

The survey also asked how long Awami League leaders should be banned if it were to happen. The majority, 54.5%, said they should be banned permanently. 

Some others suggested a ban for shorter periods, with 11.2% supporting a 10-year ban and 8.6% in favor of a 5 to 10-year ban.

On the topic of the interim government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor of the current interim government, said that political parties, including the Awami League, will have the freedom to decide whether or not they want to participate in future elections. 

However, he also stated that the Awami League should face justice for any past crimes before being allowed to join the elections.

The BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) has said that they do not want to ban the Awami League from the upcoming elections, leaving the decision to the people of Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami has made it clear that they do not support banning any political party. They believe it is up to the people to decide which parties should participate in the election.

The government has also been working on laws that would allow political parties to be banned if they are involved in criminal activities. 

However, on November 20, the advisory council of the interim government withdrew a proposed law that would have specifically banned political parties. The government clarified that such decisions could still be made under existing laws.

In a related interview, Dr. Yunus stated that the Awami League would be allowed to participate in future elections once they have been held accountable for any crimes. 

He emphasized that this would apply to all political parties.

The UK government, during a recent visit to Bangladesh, expressed support for equal political participation, hoping that all parties would be allowed to take part in Bangladesh‍‍`s political future.