Millions of Awami League supporters will boycott next year’s national election after the party was barred from contesting, ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Wednesday from her exile in New Delhi.

In an exclusive email interview with Reuters — her first media engagement since being deposed — Hasina, 78, said she would not return to Bangladesh under any government formed after elections that exclude her party.

Hasina fled to India in August 2024 following a deadly student-led uprising that toppled her 15-year rule. Since then, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has been running the country and plans to hold national elections in February.

The ban on the Awami League is not only unjust, it is self-defeating,” Hasina said. “The next government must have electoral legitimacy. Millions of people support the Awami League, so as things stand, they will not vote. You cannot disenfranchise millions of people if you want a political system that works.”

Bangladesh has over 126 million registered voters. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have long dominated national politics, with the BNP widely expected to win the upcoming polls.

The Election Commission suspended the Awami League’s registration in May, following earlier government restrictions on all party activities. The Yunus-led interim administration cited national security threats and ongoing war crimes investigations against senior Awami League leaders.

We are not asking Awami League voters to support other parties,” Hasina said. “We still hope common sense will prevail and we will be allowed to contest the election ourselves.”

She did not confirm whether any back-channel discussions were taking place with Bangladeshi authorities to lift the ban on her party.

Spokespersons for the interim government were not immediately available for comment.

Hasina, credited with driving Bangladesh’s economic growth but long accused of curbing dissent and rights, last won a fourth consecutive term in early 2024 in an election boycotted by the opposition.