As Bangladesh prepares to hold elections on Jan. 7, growing concerns about vote rigging, rising inflation and the government's crackdown on dissent risk triggering more political violence and economically disruptive protests ahead of -- and potentially after -- the ballot. Bangladesh has a long history of turbulent elections marked by violent unrest, and its 2024 general election appears poised to prove no different. On Nov. 15, Bangladesh's election commission announced that the country would hold its next general election on Jan. 7, which has since triggered widespread blockages, hartals (or strikes) and demonstrations across the country. Over the past two weeks, opposition parties like the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have reiterated their intent to boycott the elections as a means to ''delegitimize'' another likely victory by the ruling Awami League (AL) party, which has been in power since 2009. Additionally, since mid-October, workers in the country's ready-made garment (RMG) industry...
