Which political parties have been banned across the world and why

With the ban on Awami League as a political party confirmed, we take a look at the history of political bans across the world, exploring a few of those.  

1933 - Nazis rise, communists fall in Germany

The Communist Party of Germany was banned a day after the Nazi Party came to power, owing to what the newly-elected government said was "a threat to security", alongside the view of communism being anti-national. Although the party would return, it would face another ban in 1956, as the government said it had extremist ties. The party would soon be led by reformists after the fall of the Berlin Wall and splinter into different factions.     

1945 - 'Reap what you sow' for Hitler

The Nazi Party was banned by allied authorities who were then occupying German territory. The ban came as the party was charged with "crimes against humanity" in World War II. All party assets were confiscated and the Nazi ideology was declared illegal in both public and private life. A De-Nazification movement followed, which the party influence removed from public institutions, alongside reeducating German society. Furthermore, Germany's 1949 Constitution (Grundgesetz) made it illegal to form successor organisations, use Nazi symbols (swastikas, slogans, salutes) and deny the Holocaust.

1952 - A crackdown in Egypt

Amid allegations of plotting to assassinate President Gamal Abdel Nasser regime, the Muslim Brotherhood was banned, forcing it to go underground. Later, under Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, the party, while not legal, ran its candidates as independents. In this time, the party built a massive social service network, soon becoming the largest opposition group. When Mubarak was overthrown in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the Brotherhood formed the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). In 2012, FJP won the elections and Mohammad Morsi became the first  freely elected president in Egyptian history. When protests broke out later, Morsi was removed in a coup and imprisoned. The Muslim Brotherhood was again banned in 2013, including its political wing.

1970 - Indira moves against Naxals in India

The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) [CPI (ML)] was banned in 1970 by the Indira Gandhi-led central government of India. The party was leading the Naxalite movement, a violent Maoist uprising that began in Naxalbari, West Bengal. Since then, India has banned or outlawed several political parties and organizations over the years, mainly under national security laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Most bans targeted extremist, secessionist, or insurgent groups. India has never banned a major mainstream national or regional political party (like BJP, Congress, TMC, DMK, etc), even during national emergencies. In 2020, it would ban the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) & Jamaat-e-Islami J&K.

1971 - Pakistan bans Awami League

The Awami League, a key player in the-then East Pakistan's independence movement, was banned by the government due to connections with the Indian agencies. The National Awami Party (NAP) also faced bans in the 1970s due to its progressive stance and push for provincial autonomy, which clashed with the establishment. Despite the bans, NAP members persisted in their political activism. The NAP was later revived as the National Democratic Party, which eventually evolved into the Awami National Party.

Apart from those, Pakistan has since banned three more political parties, mostly those deemed extremist or separatist.

1991 - Red October and death of Bolsheviks

After seizing power in the October Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, became the ruling party in Russia. In 1918, they renamed themselves the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and later, in 1952, under Stalin, the party was renamed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) — retiring the term "Bolshevik" officially. Although the name disappeared, the Bolshevik ideology and power structure remained intact, dominating Soviet politics for decades under leaders like Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, and Gorbachev. The party maintained a one-party dictatorship, suppressing political opposition and controlling nearly every aspect of life in the USSR. The true fall of the Bolsheviks, in substance rather than name, occurred in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On December 26, 1991, the USSR was formally dissolved, and with it, the last vestiges of the Bolshevik regime ended. The CPSU was banned, state socialism was dismantled, and Russia transitioned (chaotically) toward capitalism and multiparty politics.

1993 - A constitutional crisis, a flurry of bans in Russia

In 1993, during the Russian constitutional crisis, President Boris Yeltsin took extraordinary measures that included the banning or suspension of several political parties, organizations, and media outlets, particularly those aligned with communist, nationalist, or anti-Yeltsin forces. The targets were mostly leftist and nationalist parties. He used presidential decrees to ban the parties. Some of those were re-legalised, some faded while others went underground.  

1994 - Genocide in Rwanda

The MRND (Mouvement Révolutionnaire National pour le Développement) was the ruling party in Rwanda from 1975 to 1994, founded and led by President Juvénal Habyarimana. It operated as the sole legal party until the early 1990s when political pluralism was introduced under pressure from domestic and international forces. Although nominally nationalist and developmentalist, the MRND became closely aligned with ethnic Hutu supremacy—especially its extremist wing, known as the Akazu, which played a major role in fostering anti-Tutsi propaganda and preparing for mass violence. Following the victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in a military engagement and the end of the genocide in July 1994, the MRND was banned by the new Rwandan government. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) played an instrumental role in disbanding the party. In 2003, a new Rwandan constitution was adopted, which prohibits political parties based on ethnicity, region, or religion, and specifically bans the revival of parties like the MRND and their ideologies. The MRND is thus officially illegal in Rwanda, and its legacy is deeply associated with crimes against humanity.

1998 - Islamists rise and fall in Turkey

The Welfare Party (Turkish: Refah Partisi) was a prominent Islamist political party in Turkey, active during the 1980s and 1990s. It played a key role in modern Turkish political Islam before being banned by Turkey's Constitutional Court in 1998. Although it started small in '83, over time it became the largest political party in the 1995 general election.  Strong pressure from the Turkish Armed Forces, particularly during the 1997 "postmodern coup", led to party founder and then president  Necmettin Erbakan being deposed mainly owing to its Islamic hardline approach and alleged violations of the secular constitution of Turkey. Its successor party, AKP, led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan would come to power soon, although after some moderation of the Islamic rhetoric of its predecessor.

2003 - US dismantles Saddam, his legacy, his party in Iraq

The US-led Coalition Provisional Authority banned Saddam Hussien's Ba'ath party soon after its invasion of Iraq.  De-Ba'athification policy was put in place to remove Saddam's influence post-invasion. The ban came due its totalitarian regime and accusations of committing war crimes. The 2005 Iraqi Constitution forbids the return of the Ba'ath Party to political life.  Some Ba'ath-aligned groups still operate in exile, mainly from Syria or Jordan, but wield no formal power. The party exists underground and in exile, with some former Ba'athists joining armed insurgencies (eg, early ISIS leadership had ex-Ba'ath elements).   

2003 - Tigers trounced in Sri Lanka

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is banned as a political/militant entity by the Sri Lankan government. It was declared a terrorist group after civil war escalations and its political front was also banned. The LTTE's objective was to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka. It fought a brutal civil war against the Sri Lankan government for nearly three decades. At its height, it controlled large parts of Sri Lanka and had its own military. After the LTTE was dismantled following the killing of its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Now, displaying LTTE symbols, supporting its ideology, or attempting to revive the organisation is illegal in the island nation, and individuals have been arrested under anti-terrorism laws for such activities. While there is no active LTTE insurgency today, its memory continues to be politically sensitive, especially among the Tamil population, where sentiments range from condemnation to reluctant admiration.

2024 - Jamaat banned in Bangladesh

The AL government banned the Jamaat-e-Islami for the third and cancelled its political registration. This came after many top Jamaat leaders were convicted of war crimes and executed between 2010-2016. Jamaat had earlier been banned in 1972 when the country banned all religion-based politics. It was legalised in 1979 by Ziar Rahman when the Constitution was amended to allow religious political parties again. In 2013, it faced its second ban. When the interim government came to power after the fall of Sheikh Hasina, Jamaat's ban was lifted.