Bangladesh's president dissolved parliament, paving the way for elections to replace Hasina
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Bangladesh's president dissolved parliament on Tuesday, clearing the way for new elections to replace a longtime prime minister who resigned and left the country after weeks of violent unrest.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin's office announced the decision on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier, the leader of the protests threatened to return to the streets if parliament was not dissolved on the same day.
Hasina resigned and fled the country by helicopter as protesters defied a military curfew to march on the capital, before thousands of protesters attacked her official residence and other buildings associated with her party and family.
Her departure came after weeks of protests against the government's job quota system turned into deadly violence, fueling a wider challenge to her 15-year rule. The government tried to quell the demonstrations by closing schools, imposing curfews and sending in soldiers to fire tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition, resulting in around 300 deaths, but these heavy-handed tactics only fueled further discontent.
Bangladesh's president and his top military commander said late Monday that an interim government would soon be formed to preside over new elections.
Military chief General Waker-uz-Zamam said on Monday that he was temporarily taking control of the country as troops tried to stop the unrest. The military has significant political influence in Bangladesh, which has faced more than 20 coups or attempted coups since independence in 1971.
After meeting with Waker-uz-Zamam and opposition politicians, Mohammed Shahabuddin, the country's chief president, said parliament would be dissolved and a national government formed as soon as possible, leading to new elections.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who could lead Bangladesh's new interim government, is currently in Paris for the Olympics. He called Hasina's resignation the “second day of liberation”. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
A longtime opponent of the ousted leader was accused of corruption by her government and tried on charges he said were motivated by revenge. In 2006, he received the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work in microlending.
Student organizer Nahid Islam said the protesters would suggest more names for the cabinet and suggested it would be difficult for the powerful to ignore their wishes.
The streets of Dhaka appeared calmer on Tuesday, with no reports of fresh violence.
During the celebrations, student Juairia Karim said it was a historic day: “Today we are getting what we deserve,” she said. “Everybody's happy, everybody's cheerful.”
The ousted leader's residence was still thronged with jubilant protesters, some posing for selfies with soldiers guarding the building, where a day earlier angry protesters looted furniture, paintings, flower pots and chickens.
But the country was still taking a toll from weeks of violent unrest that caused some of the country's worst bloodshed since its independence war in 1971. Many fear Hasina's departure could lead to even more instability in the densely populated South Asian nation, which is already struggling with crises ranging from high unemployment to corruption to climate change.
Violence just before and after Hasina's resignation left at least 109 people dead, including 14 police officers, and hundreds more injured, according to media reports that could not be independently confirmed.
The main airport in the capital Dhaka suspended operations for eight hours due to security concerns.
In the southwestern district of Satkhira, 596 prisoners and detainees escaped from a prison after an attack on the facility on Monday night, United News of Bangladesh reported, as police stations and security officials were attacked across the country.
Police in Dhaka mostly abandoned their posts and gathered at the central barracks in fear of attacks after several stations were set on fire or vandalized.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday urged people to exercise restraint in what it called a “transitional moment in our democratic journey”.
“It would defeat the spirit of the revolution that overthrew the illegitimate and autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina if the people decided to take the law into their own hands without due process,” Tarique Rahman, the party's acting president, wrote on the X social network. .
In a statement on Monday, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the handover in Bangladesh must be “consistent with the country's international obligations” and “inclusive and open to the meaningful participation of all Bangladeshis”.
Hasina landed at a military airport near Delhi on Monday after leaving Dhaka and met India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Indian Express reported. The report said Hasina has been taken to a safe house and is likely to travel to the UK.
The 76-year-old was elected to a fourth consecutive term in the January vote, which her main opponents boycotted. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the election, and the US and UK condemned the result as not credible, although the government defended it.