Bangladesh's president dissolves parliament, clearing 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 Mohammad Shahabuddin's office announced the decision on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier, the leader of the protests threatened to return to the streets if the parliament was not dissolved the same day.
Hasina resigned and fled the country by helicopter as protesters defied a curfew and marched on the capital, before thousands of demonstrators stormed her official residence and other buildings linked to her party and family.
Her departure comes after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs turned deadly, sparking a wider challenge to her 15-year rule. The government tried to quell the demonstrations by closing schools, imposing curfews and sending in troops to use tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition, resulting in 300 deaths, but such brutal tactics only fueled further discontent.
Bangladesh's top president and military commander-in-chief said late Monday that an interim government would soon be formed to oversee new elections.
The army's commander-in-chief, General Waqer-uz-Zamam, said on Monday that he was temporarily taking control of the country as soldiers tried to quell the unrest. The military wields considerable political influence in Bangladesh, which has faced more than 20 coups or attempted coups since independence in 1971.
Mohammed Shahabuddin, the country's official president, said after a meeting with Waqer-uz-Zam and opposition politicians that 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 become the shepherd of the new interim government of Bangladesh, is currently in Paris for the Olympics. He called Hasina's resignation “the second day of the country's liberation.” He could not immediately be reached for comment.
A longtime opponent of the ousted leader, he has been accused of corruption by his government and is on trial on charges he says were motivated by revenge. He won the Nobel Prize in 2006 for his work in microlending.
Student organizer Naheed Islam said the protesters would suggest more names for the cabinet and suggested those in power would find it difficult to ignore their wishes.
On Tuesday, the streets of Dhaka became calmer, with no reports of new incidents of violence.
Amid the celebrations, student Juairiya Karim said it was a historic day: “Today we get what we deserve,” she said. “Everybody's happy, everybody's cheerful.”
Jubilant demonstrators still thronged the ousted leader's residence, some posing for selfies with soldiers guarding the building, where angry protesters looted furniture, paintings, flower pots and chickens earlier in the day.
But the country was still reeling from weeks of violent unrest that led to the country's worst bloodshed since the 1971 independence war. Many fear Hasina's departure could lead to further instability in the populous South Asian country, which is already dealing with crises from high unemployment to corruption and climate change.
Violence immediately before and after Hasina's resignation left at least 109 people dead, including 14 policemen, and hundreds more injured, according to media reports that could not be independently confirmed.
The main airport of Dhaka, the capital, was suspended for eight hours due to security concerns.
In the southwestern district of Sathir, 596 inmates and detainees escaped from a prison after an attack on the facility on Monday evening, United News of Bangladesh reported, as police stations and security personnel came under attack across the country.
Police in Dhaka largely abandoned their stations and gathered at the central barracks, fearing attacks after several stations were set on fire or vandalized.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday urged people to exercise restraint at what it called a “transitional moment in our democratic journey”.
“It will defeat the spirit of the revolution that toppled the illegitimate and autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina if people decide to take the law into their own hands without due process,” Tariq Rahman, the party's acting chairman, wrote on social media platform X. .
In a statement on Monday, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the transition of power in Bangladesh must be “in accordance with the country's international obligations” and “inclusive and open to the meaningful participation of all Bangladeshis.”
Hasina landed at a military airfield near New Delhi on Monday after flying from Dhaka and met India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Indian Express newspaper 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 January's vote, which was boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition figures were jailed before the election, and the US and UK condemned the results as unreliable, although the government defended them.
