Nine months since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government by the student-led mass uprising, making big changes has remained tricky.
UK-based magazine The Economist made the observation in a report published on Thursday.
For 16 years Bangladesh has been shuddering from a continuous 鈥榚arthquake鈥�, says Muhammad Yunus referring to the authoritarian regime of Hasina, which was ousted by a massive uprising in August 2024, stated the report.
Now, as the interim leader, Yunus, is trying to 鈥榝ix everything that has been destroyed鈥�, he says. 鈥榃e鈥檙e moving in the right direction, and the people are with us. We are hopeful鈥�, the report read.
It said that since Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 toppling, the seeming extent of her regime鈥檚 excesses emerged. Past year a white paper alleged that around $16 billion was siphoned annually during her reign. Cases against Hasina, including charges of murder, abduction and genocide, are piling up. Parties across the political spectrum have demanded democratic changes to prevent the return of such abuses. But nine months since the revolution, making big changes is proving tricky.
The report stated that the process began almost immediately after Hasina fled to India. In September Yunus began setting up commissions to provide ideas for reform in several areas, including elections, the judiciary and the constitution. These groups are staffed with experts from civil society and academia. And to sift through the papers from these commissions, the government set up another one: the national consensus commission. This group has compiled all the recommendations (there have been 166 so far) and put them on a spreadsheet to which 35 political parties have contributed.
The consensus commission will work with political parties to establish a 鈥楯uly Charter鈥� that will allow elections to take place and usher in a 鈥榥ew Bangladesh鈥�, the report attributed Yunus to have said.
Observing that finding consensus is tricky, it said that for a start, politicians and the public disagree over what commissions should even exist. Some grumble that there should have been one for textiles, the pillar of Bangladesh鈥檚 economy; others complain about the inattention to education. The biggest controversy has been sparked by a commission that was formed belatedly on women鈥檚 reform. Its recommendations included changes to Islamic inheritance law that give women greater rights and have sparked mass protests by Islamist parties.
Still, reformers remain optimistic, the report observed, stating that Ali Riaz, the vice-chairman of the consensus commission, pointed to some changes that were already implemented, such as an independent process for appointing judges to the High Court. The second phase of the dialogue will begin soon after May 15th, but Riaz is confident of having a charter finalised by August, it said.
Should that timeline be met, it would mean elections as early as December this year, said the report.
Yunus insists polls will take place no later than June 2026 (and that he will not take part), it mentioned.
But the delay is already coming with some costs. The interim regime has steadied prices and the banks, but growth remains weak. And the political situation is fragile. According to one survey, nearly 60 per cent of those polled believe that law and order have not improved since the regime change. Protests on the street have become routine, the report detailed.
The protesters鈥� most common demand is for retribution against the Awami League, it said, mentioning that the election commission suspended the party鈥檚 registration on May 12, banning it from contesting any elections.
But for all the revulsion for the party, it still enjoys some support, it observed. Mohammad Arafat, a senior Awami official, insists that the party had the 鈥榤andate of the people鈥�, had been usurped by 鈥榡ihadists鈥� through violence and that it would 鈥榝ight to claim their rightful place in Bangladesh鈥�, stated the report.
Even out of power, the Awami League may still be able to cause tremors across the country.
