The interim government, established on 8 August, created several reform commissions to address corruption, the election system, the judiciary, police and the constitution. These commissions will provide reform roadmaps in the next three months, after beginning work in October. Four additional reform commissions have since been announced focused on health, media, labour rights and women affairs. Since August, the interim government has signed the UN Convention on Enforced Disappearances, set up disappearance inquiries, and lifted the previous administration's ban on the Jamaat-E-Islami party. While welcome developments, political analysts have raised concerns regarding the haste of court proceedings against those involved in violence during the uprising and the formation of the reform commissions, urging for transparency and inclusivity.  

Sources: International IDEA, Crisis Group, The Daily Star 

On 7 November, the interim government endorsed the annulment of the Cyber Security Act, which was widely criticized for suppressing free speech, press freedom and political dissent. All cases filed under the act would also be withdrawn. Rights and media experts have welcomed the decision, urging the interim government to provide relief to victims of the Act. The decision to repeal the Cybersecurity Act paves the way for preparing a new Cyber Protection Ordinance law. This proposed law omits seven controversial provisions from the previous Act, including hate, misinformation and defamatory propaganda penalties.

Sources: International IDEA , Dhaka Tribune, The Daily Star, Prothomalo

On 5 August, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina abruptly resigned and fled the country after weeks of student-led protests against a controversial government job quota scheme introduced in July. Initially peaceful, the protests descended into violence amid a harsh crackdown by authorities and evolved into anti-government demonstrations. On 5 August, protesters defied a military curfew and stormed Hasina’s residence, prompting her departure when military forces refused to intervene. The President dissolved Parliament the next day, paving the way for forming an interim government. On 8 August, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as Bangladesh’s interim Chief Adviser (a position comparable to the prime minister)– a key demand from protesters. The interim government said general elections would be held after essential reforms were made to state institutions. The interim cabinet members –considered advisors rather than ministers - were selected in consultation with student leaders, the military and civil society representatives. 

Sources: International IDEA, Al Jazeera, OHCHR, East Asia Forum, Deutsche Welle, The Daily Star 

On 7 August, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and three senior Grameen Bank officials were acquitted of a labour law conviction initially handed down in January. The acquittal came just a day before Yunus was sworn in as Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor for the interim government following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation amid nationwide protests.  Shortly after, Yunus and 13 others were also cleared in a graft case brought by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission. Both cases were widely seen as politically motivated, facilitated by legal pressure from the previous government, which viewed Yunus as a political rival. Similarly, on 6 August, another one of Hasina’s political adversaries, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, had her 2018 corruption conviction overturned by presidential decree. The timing and context surrounding these acquittals remain unclear. 

Sources: International IDEA, The Daily Star, Time Magazine, Al Jazeera 

In July, student-led protests erupted in response to government efforts to reinstate quotas in civil service jobs for relatives of veterans from the country’s independence war. The students argued that this system was discriminatory and called for merit-based recruitment. On 21 July, the Supreme Court ruled that only five per cent of public sector jobs could be reserved, significantly reducing the initial 30 per cent quota. In response to the protests, Bangladeshi authorities initiated a nationwide internet shutdown that lasted 11 days and enforced a curfew with an order that permitted officers to use firearms against mobs in extreme cases. According to United Nations officials, nearly 650 people have been killed, with thousands reportedly detained. The escalating violence prompted protesters to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several other ruling party ministers. United Nations experts condemned the excessive force used against protesters, labelling it as “unlawful killings,” and called for an independent investigation into the government’s actions.

Sources: Human Rights Watch, OHCHR (1), Access Now, The Daily Star (1), The Daily Star (2), BBC News, Al Jazeera, OHCHR (2)

On 7 January, Sheikh Hasina secured her fourth consecutive term as prime minister when her party, the Awami League (AL), won 223 of 300 parliamentary seats. Independent candidates, most of them allied to AL won 62 seats, while the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the vote. The Chief Election Commissioner reported voter turnout was 40.99 per cent, compared with 80.00 per cent in the last election in 2018. Preliminary results indicate that despite a record high 5.1 per cent of female candidates, only 20 out of 299 contested seats were won by women (a decrease from 22 in 2018), with an additional 50 reserved seats for women to be determined in March. The election was marred by violence and repression of opposition candidates and supporters in the lead-up to and on election day. Voting irregularities were reported across several polling centres, causing voting there to be postponed. Independent election monitors from the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) noted that the elections were “neither genuine nor competitive.”  

Sources: ANFREL (1), ANFREL (2), The Dhaka Tribune, IPU, Bangladesh Parliament, Reuters

On 1 January, a Dhaka court sentenced Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and three other officials of Grameen Telecom to six months imprisonment for violating labour laws, after they were found guilty of failing to create a welfare fund for their workers. Political analysts consider the conviction as politically motivated, aimed at discrediting Yunus, who once was considered a political rival to the government. Yunus faces more than 100 other charges for labour law violations and alleged graft. The verdict comes after 170 global figures signed a letter in August 2023 calling for an end to the “continuous judicial harassment” of Yunus. In January, global leaders proposed an independent legal review of the case. The government has said that no one is above the law and had in previous months urged international experts to reassess the legal proceedings. On 28 January, the tribunal granted bail for the four convicted, and stayed the lower court’s verdict until 3 March. Human rights groups have criticized the speedy trial, with UN special rapporteur Irene Khan describing the conviction as a “travesty of justice.” 

Sources:  BBC News, Deutsche Welle, Amnesty International South Asia, The Daily Star (1), The Daily Star (2)