 "Bangladesh's figurehead President Mohammed Shahabuddin administers the oath of office to Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, as the head of Bangladesh's interim government, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. AP")
On Thursday, at 8 pm (Dhaka time), an 84-year-old Muhammad Yunus stood before the nation at the presidential palace and was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government — three days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee to neighbouring India in the most dramatic manner.
The world looked on as the Nobel Laureate and 17 others — including two student leaders — were sworn in with the hope that the interim government would restore peace and stability to the country, putting an end to one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s 53-year history.
As the Bangladesh interim government starts cracking on, let’s take a look at what the future holds for the newly sworn-in leaders — none of them are politicians — and the Southeast Asian nation.
New government is sworn in
Three days after Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and make a hasty exit from Bangladesh — she is currently in India , seeking asylum in the UK — the student leaders, who had pioneered the protests against Hasina — proposed Muhammad Yunus’ name for the top post, which was accepted by the Bangladesh army.
On Thursday, Yunus, who is also known as the ‘ banker to the poor ’, returned to Bangladesh from Paris and at 8 pm, wearing a chequered kurta with a white vest arrived at the Bangabhaban to a standing ovation.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHe was then administered the oath of office by President Mohammed Shahabuddin. Later, other members of the interim Cabinet were also sworn in; none of them are politicians and have been drawn from different walks of life. Of the 16, three advisors could not take oath due to being away from the capital city.
The advisors sworn in are – Saleh Uddin Ahmed, Dr Asif Nazrul, Adilur Rahman Khan, Hasan Arif, Touhid Hossain, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, Brig Gen M Sakhawat Hossain (retired), Supradip Chakma, Farida Akhter, Bidhan Ranjan Roy, AFM Khalid Hasan, Noorjahan Begum, Sharmeen Murshid, and Faruk-e-Azam. Of them, Bidhan Ranjan Roy, Supradip Chakma, and Faruk-e-Azam will take oath later.
Leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Jatiya Party, Jamaat-e-Islami , Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), and Krishak Sramik Janata League attended the programme, but there were no representatives from Awami League, Sheikh Hasina’s party.
Rebuilding Bangladesh
With the swearing-in of Yunus, there’s hope of Bangladesh seeing some stability after months of turmoil. However, the road for Yunus and his interim government won’t be easy.
In remarks right after his swearing-in, he said: “Bangladesh is like a family, and we need to unite it. It is critical that trust in government be restored quickly. We need calm, we need a road map to new elections, and we need to get to work to prepare for new leadership in order to fulfil the extraordinary potential of Bangladesh.”
Yunus further added that in the days to come, he would talk to “all of the relevant parties about how we can work together to rebuild Bangladesh and how they can help”. He also clarified, “I have no intention to seek any elected or appointed office beyond this role during this interim period.”
The Yunus-led interim government will have to quell the anger among Bangladeshis, who are grappling with high unemployment and corruption. Moreover, the government will have to restore law and order to the nation, which has seen violent protests, resulting in the deaths of over 400 people and vandalism of public and private property.
On this front, Yunus said that punishment for all sorts of crimes will be ensured soon and the lost glory of all state institutions will be revived. “Proper punishment will be given soon to those who committed crimes while being used (by the autocratic government) in its various endeavours… The crimes across all sectors will be tried,” he was quoted as saying by Dhaka Tribune. He also called on people to cooperate with the new government.
Paving the way for elections
One of the other big tasks for this interim government is to prepare for new elections. Earlier, on Tuesday (August 6), Bangladesh’s figurehead President Mohammed Shahabuddin had promised to hold elections “as soon as possible”.
However, when Daily Star, a Bangladesh news outlet, asked about this again on Thursday after the swearing-in, four of the advisers couldn’t give answer how long this interim government will be in power.
As per Bangladesh’s constitution, elections must be held within 90 days of dissolution of parliament — this means that the interim government has three months in power. But since parliament was dissolved Tuesday under abnormal circumstances, this rule may not apply. Nitai Roy Chowdhury, state minister of law in the Hussain Muhammad Ershad administration (1983-1990) told The Print that the ‘Doctrine of Necessity may come into play now.
“Parliament has not expired under normal circumstances. In an ‘extraordinary situation’ like the current times, the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ in various interpretations of Supreme Court judgments, says elections must be held as soon as possible but no exact time frame is given. The new interim government will have to first bring order to the country and then examine this doctrine,” Chowdhury told The Print.
For instance, when Bangladesh was embroiled in a political crisis between 2006 and 2008, Army Chief Moeen Uddin Ahmed, extended support to a caretaker government, which led to it serving for two years, far beyond the constitutional three-month period.
Former Foreign Secretary Shamsher Chowdhury was also of the opinion that Bangladesh is unlikely to hold elections soon. The interim government is likely to be around for a longer term because they need to bring about constitutional changes through the president and then have the election, Chowdhury told Bloomberg Television on Thursday. “It could be there for at least a couple of years.”
A Hasina return imminent
When Hasina fled the country, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, had said that she had no plans to return to the country her family shaped for decades. “She said she will never go back to Bangladesh,” he said to Bloomberg. “In fact, to be entirely candid, she told me that none of our family will ever go back to Bangladesh.”
However, on Friday (August 9), it seems that Hasina has changed her stance on returning to Bangladesh. Her son was quoted as saying that she would return to her country when its new caretaker government decides to hold elections.
Speaking to the Times of India, Joy said, “For the time being, she (Hasina) is in India. She will go back to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election.”
He further stated that the Awami League, the country’s oldest party, would remain engaged in Bangladesh’s politics despite the attacks on the Awami League party and members over the past week.
“If we want to build a new Bangladesh, it is not possible without the Awami League,” he was quoted as telling news agency AP. “The Awami League is the oldest, democratic, and largest party in Bangladesh.”
With inputs from agencies