After weeks of protests in Bangladesh, thousands of people stormed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s residence on Monday. At the same time, news came that she fled the country in a helicopter and announced her resignation after 15 years in power. Now there is great uncertainty about who will rule the country in the future.
– All people in higher positions in Bangladesh are selected by her. The entire state apparatus is an extension of her political party. When she then withdraws, all this falls away, says Arild Engelsen Ruud, professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Oslo.
The students opposed the army chief
President Mohammed Shahabuddin’s press secretary states for AP that Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will lead a transitional government.
Earlier, the country’s army chief, Waker-Uz-Zaman, took on the role – something opposed by the students behind the protests, who have instead given their support to Muhammad Yunus.
Became an enemy of Sheikh Hasina
84-year-old Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 and is the founder of the Grameen Bank and the microcredit concept, where money is lent to the poor in order for them to support themselves.
According to Engelsen Ruud, he enjoys respect in the country and can probably be accepted by large groups.
– He has a name and tried to become prime minister or president back in 2007 – which went completely wrong – and then he became an enemy of Sheikh Hasina. It gives him some credibility as an opposition leader, while he is not a traditional politician.
Parliament dissolved
The fact that the country’s president on Tuesday officially dissolved the parliament means that Bangladesh may in the future move towards new elections.
After Hasina’s resignation, the corruption-convicted opposition leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia has been released from her house arrest. In the event of a new election, her son Tarique Rahman, who has been in exile in London accused of corruption, will probably want to enter the election campaign, according to Engelsen Ruud.
– Then there is a good chance that the old opposition party BNP will win. It is a rather corrupt government that can come back.