US Senators Urge Hasina To Preserve Democracy

US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, and US Senators Jeff Merkley, Tim Kaine and Peter Welch have urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to live up to her promise to preserve Bangladeshi democracy by stopping the abuse of democratic institutions and to uplift all Bangladeshi voices.

In a statement published by the US Senate officials on Wednesday (January 10), they said, "On Sunday, despite the peaceful participation of millions of Bangladeshis, the country's election and pre-election processes were marred by violence and troubling government intimidation of opposition candidates."

They also regretted the refusal of the main opposition party to participate in the election.

Leading up to the election, opposition party members and civil society activists faced harassment and mass arbitrary arrests that undermined the pre-election process, said the US Senate officials.

Finally, they urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to live up to her promise to preserve Bangladeshi democracy by stopping the abuse of democratic institutions and to uplift all Bangladeshi voices.

"We also encourage all parties to engage in meaningful dialogue, commit to nonviolence, and hold perpetrators of political violence accountable. In the aftermath of the election, freedom of expression and civic spaces must be protected," they added.