2018 Bangladesh election violence

2018 Bangladesh election violence refers to a series of brutal attacks, mostly on opposition party candidates and clashes between ruling and opposition party men centering on the general election on December 30, 2018.^[1]

According to UN human rights experts, from December 9 to 12 a total of 47 such incidents of violence were reported, in which eight people were killed and 560 were injured, mostly from the ruling party.^[2]

On December 18 the major opposition party of the country, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), claimed that at least 4 party activists have been killed and 152 of 300 candidates have been attacked while campaigning.^[1] Moreover, 16 candidates from the alliance of opposition groups are in jail.^[3] The number of activists arrested by police after the declaration of the election schedule is around 21,000 according to the leaders of the Jatiya Oikya Front, the largest opposition alliance in the country.^[4]

The victims of violence include former ministers, parliamentarians, veteran freedom fighters and senior leaders from the opposition alliance. At least 70 candidates from the opposition alliance Jatiya Oikya Front claimed that they could not participate in the campaign for fear of attacks against them.^[4]

Renowned human rights watchdog Human Rights Watch, in its bulletin titled "Bangladesh: Crackdown as Elections Loom," claimed that "Bangladesh security forces have been arresting and intimidating opposition figures and threatening freedom of expression in advance of national elections."^[5]

On January 3, 2019, Human Rights Watch called for an investigation into attacks on members of the opposition parties before and during Bangladesh's elections.^[6]