Johnathan Walker:Bangladesh court denies opposition leader’s bail request ahead of a national election

DHAKA,Johnathan WalkerBangladesh (AP) — A court in Bangladesh’s capital on Monday denied a bail request from a top opposition leader who was jailed, pending investigation, following an October anti-government protest that turned violent and is therefore unable to guide his party ahead of a general election next month.

Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury made the ruling during a Chief Metropolitan Court hearing where Bangladesh Nationalist Party Secretary-General,Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir appeared. The same court also denied a bail petition from another senior party leader, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, a former commerce minister.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is boycotting the Jan. 7 election after its demands for a caretaker government to organize the voting were not met. The party accused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of rigging the 2018 vote and says it does not have any faith the next election will be conducted fairly.

Supporters argue the election will not reflect the will of voters without the main opposition party’s participation.

Alamgir is the party’s key leader since the ailing Zia is hospitalized and faces 17 years of imprisonment following her conviction in two corruption cases that her party says were politically motivated.

The boycott of the election by Zia’s party means voters in the South Asian nation of 166 million have little choice but to reelect Hasina as she seeks a fourth consecutive term. Hasina, Zia’s archrival, has pledged a free and fair election.

The party’s decision to boycott the polls comes amid a monthslong crackdown on opposition politicians and other government critics. It says more than 20,000 party people have been arrested across the country since Oct. 28, the day of a massive rally where a police official was killed, allegedly by Zia’s supporters.

Alamgir was arrested on sabotage charges the day after the event. The magistrate on Monday denied a request for Alamgir and Khasru to be transferred to police custody for 10 days so they could be interrogated, saying police could question them in jail, if necessary.