Bangladesh Protesters Expect Interim Government to be Finalized on Wednesday
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Loading... - Heather Carter
- 07 Aug 2024
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Bangladesh's protest leaders announced that the members of an interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, are expected to be finalised on Wednesday. This development follows Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation and subsequent flight to India after a violent crackdown on a student-led uprising.
Bangladesh's president appointed Yunus, who was recommended by student leaders, as the head of the interim government late on Tuesday. The president emphasized the urgency of finalizing the remaining members to address the current crisis and pave the way for elections.
The interim government aims to fill the power vacuum created after Bangladesh's army chief announced Hasina's resignation in a televised address on Monday. The resignation followed weeks of deadly violence that claimed approximately 300 lives and left thousands injured.
"It is critical that trust in government be restored quickly," Yunus, 84, told the Financial Times on Wednesday. He clarified that he does not seek an elected role or appointment beyond the interim period. Yunus's spokesperson mentioned that he is expected to return to Dhaka on Thursday after a medical procedure in Paris.
"We need calm, we need a road map to new elections and we need to get to work to prepare for new leadership," Yunus told the newspaper. "In the coming days, I will talk with all of the relevant parties about how we can work together to rebuild Bangladesh and how they can help."
Hasina's resignation triggered widespread jubilation, and crowds stormed her official residence unopposed after she fled, ending her 15-year second stint in power in the nation of 170 million, which has faced economic distress in recent years.
Normalcy slowly began returning after Monday's chaos, but fresh protests erupted in a Dhaka neighborhood on Wednesday. Hundreds of officials from the central bank forced four of its deputy governors to resign over alleged corruption, according to Bangladesh Bank sources. The bank did not immediately comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered at a rally in Dhaka held by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, whose leader Khaleda Zia was freed from house arrest by the president on Tuesday.
