DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jan 29, (AP): From her exile in India, Bangladesh’s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina has slammed the country’s upcoming election after her party was barred from the polls, remarks that could deepen tensions ahead of the pivotal vote next month. Hasina, who was sentenced to death for her crackdown on a student uprising in 2024 that killed hundreds of people and led to the toppling of her 15-year rule, warned in an email to The Associated Press last week that without inclusive and free and fair elections, Bangladesh will face prolonged instability.

She also claimed that Bangladesh's interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus deliberately disenfranchised millions of her supporters by excluding her party - the former ruling Awami League - from the election. "Each time political participation is denied to a significant portion of the population, it deepens resentment, delegitimizes institutions and creates the conditions for future instability," she wrote.

"A government born of exclusion cannot unite a divided nation,” Hasina added. More than 127 million people in Bangladesh are eligible to vote in the Feb. 12 election, widely seen as the country’s most consequential in decades and the first since Hasina’s removal from power after the mass uprising. Yunus' interim administration is overseeing the process, with voters also weighing a proposed constitutional referendum on sweeping political reforms.

Campaigning started last week, with rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere. Yunus returned to Bangladesh and took over three days after Hasina fled to India on Aug. 5, 2024, following weeks of violent unrest. He has promised a free and fair election, but critics question whether the process will meet democratic standards and whether it will be genuinely inclusive after the ban on Hasina's Awami League.

There are also concerns over security and uncertainty surrounding the referendum, which could bring about major changes to the constitution. Yunus’ office said in a statement to the AP that security forces will ensure an orderly election and will not allow anyone to influence the outcome through coercion or violence. International observers and human rights groups have been invited to monitor the process, the statement added.

The Election Commission says some 500 foreign observers, including from the European Union and the Commonwealth, are expected to watch the polls on Feb. 12. Since Hasina's ouster, Bangladesh has faced a slew of political and security challenges.