Press Release
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
O Muslims, the Election Circus is now Farcical as the Democracy Itself!
The Election will be Fair and Meaningful under the Khilafah System
The political circus in the name of democracy has once again returned to Bangladesh ahead of the upcoming national election in 2023. Political temperatures are getting high on the streets as the main opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is suddenly being allowed by the Hasina government to galvanize masses for anti-government agitation. As people want to get rid of the tyranny of Hasina Government, many people in our society consider a free and fair election a way to change Hasina’s tyrant regime. They are also hopeful while seeing large gatherings of BNP across the country demanding upcoming elections to be free and fair. But amid this ‘good sign’ in the fight against so-called fascism, the sudden suspension of the Gainbandha-5 parliamentary seat by-elections by the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday (12th Oct, 2022) for massive vote rigging and voter intimidation has made them skeptical about fair elections under this government.
Secular opposition-political parties are looking for the all-out interference of foreign countries to pressurize the government to hold a free and fair election. Even now we see how colonialist America is sending tough signals to the bureaucrats ahead of the upcoming national election by punishing the officials of RAB and the police. The US clearly wants them to act as per its demands even if it requires going against the Hasina regime. In fact, it is well-known that the US wants to accelerate her geopolitical interest either by pressurizing the Hasnia regime or by changing her, whereas the UK wants to back her most loyal agent Sheikh Hasina for her scramble for shares. Thus we see the open tension between the police and Hasina’s EC stooges who called the police “toothless” and “clawless” (“DC, SP arguments with EC a misunderstanding: CEC”, The Business Standard, 11 October, 2022).
To remain relevant in mainstream democratic politics, none of these political parties and pragmatic factions of the society raises the most vital question. Can democratic elections under the Colonialist-Capitalist world order (aka neo-colonialism) reflect people’s will and representation and help Bangladesh to get rid of the Colonialist grip – from those who invade our strategic resources and try to control our army to use as a fuel for their geopolitical interests? In the last fifty years, we have experienced so many elections in Bangladesh but did those lead to liberation from IMF-World Bank’s policies of looting our wealth, destroying economy and keeping the people in perpetual misery? In fact none of the elected governments in Bangladesh could make its foreign policy independent of the geopolitical interests of the UK or the US since 1971.
O People, this is the reality of democratic election under the Western world order. Demanding ‘free and fair elections under caretaker government’ or ‘no election under Hasina government’ is meaningless without reference to the Capitalist system it is held under. The election itself cannot be blown out of proportion because it is not an effective method to change a system, it can only change the faces of rulers within the same system. You cannot fall into the illusion of ‘free and fair elections’ created by the West over and over again. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice” (Bukhari). But you have been stung and duped countless times by our secular politicians and muddle-headed pragmatic intelligentsia who want to make secularism the measure of your lives. The true change and liberation will be by uprooting this system to end the Western hegemony and the puppet rulers it produces.
O Muslims, elections will be fair and meaningful under the Islamic political system – the second Khilafah Rashidah (rightly-guided Caliphate) on the method of Prophethood, which will bring about real change for the people. Under the Khilafah sovereignty belongs to Allah (i.e. legislation is derived from divine sources). Therefore, there will be no scope for legislation to favor any vested quarters, let alone the Kafir-Colonialists. The authority lies with the people who are able to truly reflect their will and representation by means of elections and electoral process. Unlike democracy, people hold the authority of the ruling in the Khilafah and contract the rulers (caliphs and governors) to rule as per the divine Shariah. Th e shariah clearly asks for people’s mandate for the appointment of the ruler via an electoral process. The Court of Mahkamat al-Madhalim (the Court of Unjust Acts) can remove any ruler for breaching their constitutional contract. This court is independent of the executive body and can listen to any complaint raised by the citizens irrespective of their race and religion. Citizens under the Khilafah will enjoy the true check and balance by means of the Regional Council (Majlis ul-Wilyiah) in each province (Wilayah) that are directly elected. This assembly then elects from amongst itself a national assembly known as the Ummah’s Council (Majlis al-Ummah/Shura Council). They will account and give input to the ruler at the national level and appointed Governors (Walis) at the local level. This is how the election and electoral process under the Khilafah system will bring justice, stability, and harmony to society. Thus, true checks and balances are present in the Khilafah system. So, wake up from the illusory trap of ‘free and fair elections’ under democracy and call for the election under the system of the Khilafah Rashidah. Allah Azza Wa Jal says:
*إِنِ ٱلْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ ۚ أَمَرَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلْقَيِّمُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ*
“All authority to govern rests only with Allah. He has commanded that you shall not serve none but Him; this is the right Deen, but most people do not know” [Sura Yusuf: 40]
Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Bangladesh