Thousands rally in Bangladesh, demand reforms and roadmap for next election

Tens of thousands of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists gathered in Dhaka on Friday, calling for fresh elections and urgent reforms under the leadership of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s party.

This rally comes at a pivotal moment, as Bangladesh navigates political uncertainty with an interim government following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure in August.

Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus leads the interim government. Zia, who is ailing, could not attend, leaving her son, Tarique Rahman, to represent the party. The rally, which culminated at the national parliament building, symbolized the BNP’s desire to lead the next government.

The Yunus-led government hasn’t declared any timeframe for the next election. The BNP had initially demanded election in three months after Yunus took over three days after Hasina fled the country to India on Aug. 5 amid a student-led mass uprising, ending her 15-year rule.

The BNP leaders had earlier said the Yuns-led government should move forward to hold the election, rather than staying in power for long, but the party wants to give the government a reasonable amount of time to bring some reforms.

On Friday, Rahman said by videoconference from London that the interim government mustn’t be allowed to fail under any situation as the government has been facing serious challenges to bring order in the country. Hasina’s Awami League party and its allies are also facing challenges to navigate through the new political scenario.

Avoiding any direct reference about next election, Rahman said that the government must take effective steps to meet the expectations of the people. BNP leaders have recently indicated that the party would go ahead with plans for street protests in two to three months if the interim government doesn’t roll out a road map for the next election.

Rahman told his cheering supporters to remain vigilant as he said that the accomplices of the former government of Hasina were still active.

“The accomplices of the exiled autocrats are still present at home and abroad, in governance and administration, actively working to unsettle the interim government. This interim government must not be allowed to fail under any circumstances,” said Rahman, also his party’s acting chairman.

“(But) the interim government must take effective steps to meet the expectations of the people. This is what the public desires today,” he said.

Friday’s political show came as Hasina is facing charges of crimes against humanity for hundreds of deaths involving the July-August uprising in the country. The government said that it would seek her repatriation from India once a court decision comes.

With inputs from agencies.