In Bangladesh, after a hundred days in power, the task of the provisional government remains colossal

Activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, during a demonstration to counter the rally of the Awami League party of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, November 10, 2024. MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / AP Near Parliament, in Dhaka, the atmosphere is light. Young people take photos of themselves, the green and red flag of Bangladesh in their hands, in front of the geometrically shaped building designed by architect Louis Kahn. Families stroll between balloon sellers along Manik Mia Avenue, enjoying their weekly day of rest. The institutional complex, guarded by the armed forces, has not welcomed elected officials for three months. The student revolution, which ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, rendered the assembly that sat there obsolete. The interim government, led by economist Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2006, took over the country on August 8. A sign that times have changed, the slogans of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (PNB), the main opposition party during the “old regime”, resonate on the avenue this Friday, November 8. The PNB organized a rally of several hundred thousand people in the Bangladeshi capital. “Previously, my parents would never have let me come to a PNB demonstration,” rejoices Mohamed Muzahid, 28, an activist of this party whose members were the subject of real hounding by the deposed power. “From now on, citizens have the right to speak freely, it is a great opportunity for us to have Muhammad Yunus as our leader,” says Karima Akhtar Oni, an 18-year-old student out for a walk. Some one hundred days after the fall of the hated leader, the task of the provisional government remains colossal. It must ensure the democratic transition of a country whose institutions have been subverted for fifteen years by a regime that has become increasingly autocratic and whose economy is faltering. The police, public administration and the judicial system have been shaped over time by the so-called “iron begum”. “The changes are not as rapid as we had expected because the police, the civil administration but also the justice system functioned as in a monarchy and only served the interests of the monarch,” says Syeda Rizwana Hasan , responsible for environmental issues and spokesperson for an interim government many of whose members come from civil society. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Muhammad Yunus: “If we do not offer opportunities to young people, they will make another revolution” Read later Ten commissions have been created, each of them working on a key reform, such as the electoral system, public administration, police, the Constitution, the fight against corruption or justice. They will submit their conclusions to the government by December 31. The latter will then have to find consensus with all political parties, including the main Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami. The Awami League (Bangladesh Awami League, BAL), the formation of Sheikh Hasina, now exiled in India, is excluded from this process. You have 57.59% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.



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