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Anatomy of a rigged election in a hybrid regime: the lessons from Bangladesh

ABSTRACT With the global proliferation of hybrid regimes, manipulated elections are on the rise as the rulers of hybrid regimes organize elections to maintain the veneer of democracy. Yet available studies on hybrid regimes have not explored the detail mechanisms of election manipulation and the role of various institutions in the process. This article intends to address this gap through the case study of 2018 Bangladeshi election. This article examines the parliamentary election held on 30 December which has delivered an unprecedented victory to the incumbent Bangladeshi Awami League (BAL). The article demonstrates how the ruling party adopted various methods to rig the election. These include creating a climate of fear, neutering opposition candidates through imprisonment and confinement, disqualifying opposition candidates, limiting the effective oversight of the electoral process through denying international observers, and establishing control over media before the election day and ballot stuffing. It also discusses the roles of the electoral commission, civilian administration, law enforcing agencies and the courts.