The recent actions of the Awami League have been confusing and frustrating. Last month Sheikh Hasina made an impassioned speech about the importance of secular government, only to be followed by the release of a "Memorandum of Understanding" with the fundamentalists Bangladesh Khelafat-e-Majlish. Following the subsequent outcry, Awami League spokesmen tried to downplay the agreement.

Of course, this all came even after AL teamed up with former dictator Hossain Mohammad Ershad and his Jatiya Party - a poorly considered agreement perhaps best illustrated by Ershad's disqualification from the polls due to his conviction on charges of official corruption.

Things have taken a turn for the worse as the Awami League announced that they would contest the polls only to turn around a week later and announce they would boycott the polls.

Sheikh Hasina is now calling for a blockade and justifying their withdrawal from the elections saying

We've tried our best to participate in the election but we cannot step into a trap of a stage-managed election and give it legitimacy

Hasina has it all wrong. Awami League and their allies need to stop trying to out-maneuver the BNP by finding their own fundamentalists and calling their own hartals. These are short-sighted attempts that, at best, yield short-lived gains in power.

AL and the "grand alliance" should contest the polls. One of the more difficult aspects of democracies is the avoidance, not only of corruption, but even the appearance of such. By withdrawing from the election, the Awami League casts doubt on their own willingness to act in good faith.

That the election is "rigged" remains to be seen. If AL officers have some solid proof, they should make it public. But by throwing around accusations and calling hartals, the Awami League at the very least appear to be less interested in democratic elections than street politics.

In the U.S., the Democrats suffered under the pervasive corruption in the Republican party over the past several years. Under the leadership of Tom DeLay, the House of Representatives became a broken branch of government. But the Democrats didn't withdraw from government, they made public the corruption of the Republican leadership and introduced legislation to combat that corruption. The American people saw what were largely considered to be illegitimate elections and acts of government, and gave the Democrats control of Congress.

The Awami League may believe they are acting in their best interests, but they are actually playing into the hands of those who would undermine the fragile democratic government in Bangladesh. Furthermore, they are acting against the interests of the people - the exact opposite of a proper strategy for building political support.

By acting in the interests of the people, political parties build support on the ground. They also stand in sharp contrast to any alleged corruption. As people are fond to say in economics, "a rising tide lifts all boats." This is certainly true for politics. By acting in the best interests of the people, the opposition alliance can not only help the people of Bangladesh, they can help themselves as well.