Prior to 2008, it was common practice in Bangladesh for an apolitical 'caretaker government' to be appointed during an election period. In 2008, that caretaker government was involved in a military coup which arrested the leaders of both major parties, before eventually holding elections following external pressure from the west. Since then, the Awami league has been in power and refused the appoint a caretaker government. Their main opposition, the BNP, boycotted the election in 2014 in protest at this, and then contested the election in 2018. It has since been widely established that the 2018 election featured significant amounts of rigging and election irregularities. The BNP has announced they will not contest the 2024 election without a caretaker government, which the Awami league has refused to appoint. The United States has imposed personal sanctions on individuals it believes to be "responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh".