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Bangladesh’s president dissolved the country’s parliament on Tuesday, clearing the way for fresh elections to replace Sheikh Hasina as prime minister, a day after she resigned and left the country following weeks of violent unrest.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin’s office announced the decision after leaders of the student protests called for Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, to serve as chief adviser to an interim government.
Yunus, who is currently in Paris for the Olympics, called Hasina’s resignation the country’s “second day of liberation.”
A longtime opponent of the ousted leader, he was accused of corruption by her government and tried on charges he said were motivated by revenge. He received the Nobel Prize in 2006 for his work as a pioneer in microcredit.
Student organizer Nahid Islam said the protesters would propose more names for the cabinet and that it would be difficult for those in power to ignore their wishes.
Military leader Gen. Waker-uz-Zamam said Monday he was temporarily taking control of the country while soldiers tried to quell unrest. The military wields considerable political influence in Bangladesh, which has suffered more than 20 coups or attempted coups since independence in 1971.
Shahabuddin, the country’s president, said after a meeting with Waker-uz-Zamam and opposition politicians that a national government would be formed as soon as possible, leading to new elections.
The streets of Dhaka appeared calmer on Tuesday, with no new violence reported.
Amid the festivities, student Juairia Karim said it was a historic day: “Today we get what we deserve,” she said. “Everyone is happy, everyone is cheerful.”
Joyous protesters continued to crowd the ousted leader’s residence, some posing for selfies with soldiers guarding the building. Just a day earlier, angry demonstrators had looted furniture, paintings, flower pots and chickens.
Fear of more instability
But the country is still reeling from weeks of violent unrest that led to the worst bloodshed since the 1971 war of independence. Many fear Hasina’s departure could lead to further instability in the populous South Asian nation, already grappling with crises from high unemployment to corruption to climate change.
At least 109 people, including 14 police officers, were killed in violence just before and after Hasina’s resignation, according to media reports that could not be confirmed by independent sources. Hundreds of others were also injured.
The main airport in the capital Dhaka has halted operations for eight hours due to security concerns.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country after weeks of violent protests against the government.
In the southwestern district of Satkhira, 596 prisoners and detainees escaped from a prison after an attack on the jail on Monday night, the United News of Bangladesh news agency reported. Police stations and security officials were attacked across the country.
Police in Dhaka largely abandoned their stations and gathered in a central barracks amid fears of attack 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 on our democratic path”.
“It would destroy 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,” Tarique Rahman, the party’s acting chairman, wrote on the social media platform X.
In a statement on Monday, United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said the transfer of power in Bangladesh “must be in line with the country’s international obligations” and “inclusive and open to the meaningful participation of all Bangladeshis.”
Hasina landed at a military airport near New Delhi on Monday after leaving 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 United Kingdom.
The 76-year-old was elected to a fourth consecutive term in a January vote boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition figures were jailed before the vote, and the US and UK condemned the result as not credible, although the government defended it.
