Family members of fallen autocrats who have returned to politics

In different countries of the world, there are precedents of many rulers fleeing from power in the face of intense mass movements. They mainly chose to leave the country to escape public anger.

Many of them held power for many years without any democratic elections. Some have behaved like dictators after being democratically elected. Some have been ousted by political violence.

Gaddafi of Libya

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya's ousted dictator, who was killed by rebels, will contest the Libyan presidential election.

Although elections are scheduled to be held in Libya in 2024, uncertainty remains.

Many analysts believe that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi, could become a factor in politics whenever the elections are held.

After Gaddafi was ousted and killed in 2011, his son Saif al-Gaddafi was captured by rebels. He was detained by the rebels for almost six years. Later in 2017 he was freed from Zintan province of Libya.

He is being prosecuted for genocide at the International Criminal Court. But in the meantime, he has announced his candidacy for the Libyan presidential election.

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak

Many Egyptians started online campaigns for Gamal Mubarak, the son of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Through these campaigns, they said that they want to see Gamal Mubarak as a candidate in the next presidential election of Egypt.

Gamal Mubarak is the only solution to Egypt's current political turmoil and economic crisis, many Egyptians wrote on Facebook and Twitter. But Gamal Mubarak could not participate in the election in the end.

Incumbent President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is in power for a third term with nearly 89 percent of the vote. However, there is a lot of controversy about that election.

Many observers believe that Gamal Mubarak will become important in Egyptian politics in the future.

After the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, his two sons were also arrested. Then in 2017, Gamal Mubarak was released from prison.

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, who had been in power for 30 years, was ousted in the wake of popular uprisings in the Arab world against dictators.

Indonesia's Suharto

Indonesia's President Suharto was ousted in 1998. After his ouster, the country fell into economic and social turmoil.

His daughter Siti Hedaiti Suharto, also known as Titek Suharto, contested the 2014 election, 16 years after Suharto left power.

In that election, he said, there was no economic progress in the country after his father Suharto left power. During the election campaign, he is trying to portray his father's image again and again.

In 2016 Suharto's son Tommy Suharto formed a political party. Although Suharto's daughter was in this party, she later left it and joined the Gerindra Party.

The leader of this party is her ex-husband. Suharto's daughter was made an adviser to the party ahead of the February 2024 presidential election. Her husband Prabou Subinato won that election.

Titek Suharto married the then army officer Subinato in 1983 when Suharto was in power. They were separated after the fall of Suharto in 1998.

Subinato was accused of human rights violations while Suharto was in power. At that time he was the commander of the special forces.

Mr. Suharto was released from the army after the fall. To Subinato. Subinato was banned in America for alleged human rights violations.

Marcos of the Philippines

Former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos was ousted in February 1986. He was forced to flee the country after Haba was deposed. He took refuge on the island of Guam on a US plane.

Marcos was in power for 21 years. His son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. became the President of the Philippines in 2022, 36 years after dictator Marcos was ousted and fled.

After winning the election, he said, don't judge me by my ancestry. Rate me with my work.

During the election, he promised to establish unity within the country, create employment, develop infrastructure and reduce commodity prices. He won the election by a landslide.

During the election, he campaigned online to highlight the country's economic prosperity and stability under his father's rule.

Thaksin of Thailand

In 2006, Thailand's then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted by the country's army.

Thaksin Shinawatra's party won a landslide victory in the country's 2005 elections. But in 2006, massive protests against Thaksin Shinawatra started over the sale of a telecom company.

The army overthrew them in a coup d'état while he was abroad. Thaksin Shinawatra and his political party were then banned for five years.

Another 111 leaders of Thaksin Shinawatra's party were banned from politics for five years for election fraud. Thaksin then went into self-imposed exile in Britain.

The country's parliament has elected Petangtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of the former Prime Minister of Thailand and tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, as the new Prime Minister.

37-year-old Patong Tarn Shinawatra will be the country's youngest Prime Minister. Earlier, her cousin Yingluck Shinawatra served as the first female Prime Minister of Thailand.

Three others, including his father Thaksin Shinawatra and Phu Phu Yingluck Shinawatra, were ousted in military coups or constitutional court rulings.

Earlier in 2011, the Pheu Thai Party, a political party supported by Thaksin, won the election and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra became prime minister.

Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif's political life is going through many ups and downs. Nawaz Sharif has been ousted thrice and returned to power repeatedly.

Nawaz Sharif got into a conflict with the then army chief in 1999 based on the Kargil war. Then the army chief deposed him. He was then sentenced to prison by trial.

But Nawaz Sharif was freed by the mediation of then US President Bill Clinton and Saudi King Fahd bin Abdulaziz and went into voluntary exile to Saudi Arabia in 2002.

He also returned in 2007, when he and his rival Benazir Bhutto reached a historic agreement with the army.

After losing power in a military coup in 1999, he was allowed to run again. Then Nawaz Sharif came to power again in 2013 election.

But in 2017, he was forced to resign after the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Nawaz Sharif has been elected prime minister three times, and three times he has lost power before the end of his term – first due to conflict with the president, second time by the army, and in 2017 by the courts.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN)'s election slogan for the 2024 general elections was 'Pakistan ko Nawaz Do', meaning 'Give Pakistan Nawaz'.

But finally Nawaz Sharif's brother Shehbaz Sharif was nominated as Prime Minister.

Then Nawaz Sharif's party won 75 seats in the 2024 election. Later, when the government was formed with political partners, his brother Shehbaz Sharif became the Prime Minister.

Why come back?

It has been seen in international politics, some of the dictators of many countries of the world have returned to politics within a decade or less of their ouster. However, most never returned to the center of power.

Even if people have some sort of anger or hatred against the dictators, how do their family members later return to politics?

Saeed Iftekhar Ahmed, a professor and political scientist at American Public University Systems, says that there is a promise of democracy on the part of those who come to power after the fall of dictators. But many times it is seen, the practice of democracy is not seen.

Another issue is economic crisis and social unrest. Sayeed Ahmed says that these crises are not resolved after the dictator is ousted from power.

These things take people back to old memories. If people start thinking, maybe I was better then.

Sayeed Ahmed thinks that these issues help to bring the family members of fallen dictators back into politics.

When a person is in state power for a long time, he develops a personal image. It can be both positive and negative.

Saeed Ahmed thinks that these things help the family members of deposed dictators to return to politics.

Another thing is that when a country does not have democracy for a long time, there is no opportunity to develop alternative leadership in that country.

As a result, those who come to power after the fall of dictators are inexperienced in politics and state management. It takes time for them to understand everything. As a result, the problem is prolonged and the people lose patience.

Because when people agitate to overthrow the dictatorship, they have dreams about the state. They want to see change quickly. If not, old memories come back in people's minds, said Saeed Ahmed.

Source: BBC Bangla

Bangladesh /SBT