New Delhi, Dec. 22 -- As Bangladesh prepares to hold its national elections nearly a year after Sheikh Hasina's government was ousted following a student-led uprising in July, the former prime minister has said that an election without her party would not be an election but a coronation, as the Awami League has been barred from contesting the upcoming polls.

"An election without the Awami League is not an election, but a coronation. Yunus governs without a single vote from the Bangladeshi people, and now he seeks to ban the party that has been elected nine times by popular mandate," Hasina said.

"Historically, when Bangladeshis cannot vote for their preferred party, they do not vote at all. So millions will be effectively disenfranchise...