Dhaka, Jan. 23 -- Sheikh Hasina has launched a stinging political broadside against the interim government, accusing Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus of replacing constitutional rule with what she calls "authoritarianism dressed up as transition" by sidelining her party Awami League ahead of the Feb 12 general elections.

In a wide-ranging written interview with ThePrint, the former prime minister said the suspension of the Awami League from political activity has hollowed out the electoral process, leaving tens of millions of voters effectively "disenfranchised".

"You cannot ban the country's oldest and most popular political party and then claim democratic legitimacy. That is not reform; it is authoritarianism dressed up as transition," Ha...