- By Nidhi Giri
- Thu, 30 Oct 2025 08:48 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed her wish to return home, months after fleeing the country in August 2024 following a deadly student-led uprising. 78-year-old Hasina, who is currently in exile in Delhi under the protection of Indian authorities, clarified that she would not return under any government that excludes her party - Awami League.
Sheikh Hasina told Reuters on Wednesday that millions of Awami League supporters will boycott next year's national election.
Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has pledged to hold elections in February, 2026. However, the government has banned the Awami League under amendments to the anti-terrorism act, citing national security concerns and war crimes investigations into senior party members.
"The ban on the Awami League is not only unjust, it is self-defeating," Hasina said in emailed responses to Reuters.
"The next government must have electoral legitimacy. Millions of people support the Awami League, so as things stand, they will not vote. You cannot disenfranchise millions of people if you want a political system that works, she added.
Hasina stated that she would love to return to Bangladesh if there was a legitimate government.
"I would of course love to go home, so long as the government there was legitimate, the constitution was being upheld, and law and order genuinely prevailed," she told the news agency.
(With Agency Inputs)