Election 2018: Why government is fixing the election

Police rush Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) supporters at a protest
on February 9, 2018, Dhaka, Bangladesh

At first glance, this is probably the most mystifying question of the current election campaign in Bangladesh.

Whilst independent international opinion polls since May suggest that the Awami League is significantly more popular than the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Awami League government is acting as though the only way it can win the election is to repress the opposition and steal the election?