DHAKA -- Bangladesh's election process has begun without the participation of the biggest opposition group, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), setting up a repeat of the "one-sided" polls held in 2014 despite heavy U.S. pressure for a fair and inclusive vote.
Key opposition parties did not comply with the Election Commission's call to select signatories for candidate nomination forms, a procedural requirement for which the time has now passed. This shows the opposition is following through on its vow to boycott the polls. The ruling Bangladesh Awami League and the smaller Jatiya Party went ahead and started distributing the forms to aspirants in the last few days.
