Red Bridge Strategy

By Jalal Alamgir

Elections have always been a tumultuous affair in Bangladesh. December 29, 2008, was no different. On that sunny winter day, more than 70 million lined up to vote, and heartily replaced a two-year-long state of emergency with a parliamentary government.

These elections were special for the United States. Senator John McCain's first post-November foreign trip included Bangladesh, where he stressed the importance of the elections. The US ambassador to Bangladesh asserted in a Congressional hearing that the American elections aside, "there'll be no more transformational election in the world this year than the parliamentary elections scheduled for December 29 in Bangladesh."

Read the full article on The Nation's website.