Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus pleaded for “patience” from the country as he prepares for long-awaited elections in a speech to the nation marking 100 days in power following a student-led revolution.
The 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate was appointed to lead the government as “chief advisor” on August 9, days after the student-led uprising that ended Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year harsh rule. Was.
Yunus, a microfinance pioneer, is leading a temporary administration to tackle the “extremely difficult” challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of about 170 million people.
Promising to set up the Election Commission “within a few days”, Yunus said he could not give any timeline for the elections, saying it depended on elections and constitutional reforms.
“I promise that after the necessary and necessary reforms are completed, we will hold the much-awaited elections,” he said in the broadcast.
“I urge you to be patient until then. Our goal is to build an electoral system that will last for decades. We need some time to do that.”
Yunus said his administration is also focused on ensuring that those guilty of suppressing protests to oust Hasina are brought to justice and has spoken to Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
Bangladesh has issued an arrest warrant for Hasina, 77 — who was last seen fleeing by helicopter to neighboring India as a mob stormed her palace.
Hasina has been summoned to appear in a Dhaka court on Monday to face charges of “genocide, murder and crimes against humanity”, but she remains in exile in India.
Several former ministers of his government, who were detained and held in custody, are expected to face similar charges in court.
“We have already taken initiatives to prosecute those responsible for enforced disappearances, killings and mass killings during the July-August insurgency,” Yunus said.
Crisis Group analyst Thomas Keen called the challenge facing Yunus “significant”, warning that “fissures are emerging in the fragile coalition” that propelled him to power.
“For now, Yunus and his allies enjoy widespread support, but popular expectations are double-edged,” the think tank said in a report Thursday.
“If the interim administration falters in carrying out reforms, the result is likely to be early elections with little progress; in a worst-case scenario, the military could take power.”
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