Demonstrators wave Bangladesh’s national flag during Martyr March, a rally organised by Students Against Discrimination to mark one month to the ousting of the country’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka on September 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Popular revolts do not necessarily lead to democratic rule. More than a year after the student uprising in July 2024, Bangladesh is still ruled by an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus that seems hesitant to hold elections. and certainly not in a free and fair manner. A hostage to unelected pressure groups, Mr. Yunus provided some visibility of elections by February 2026, while speaking on the anniversary of Sheikh Hasina’s ouster as Prime Minister on August 5, 2025. But the Awami League is barred from contesting, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is derided as belonging to the old order. The student-led National Citizen Party and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, its politics regressive at best, are calling the shots in this tumultuous period.
Chatter about burying the Constitution worsens the political uncertainty and does not inspire confidence about a democratic transition. Also, attacks on religious minorities have added another dimension to Bangladesh’s problems in the post-Hasina phase.
This ebook, ‘Bangladesh: ahead of elections 2026’, captures the current state of affairs in this troubled country, analysing the student movement that is supposed to have led a Gen Z Revolution, the ties with India dominated by disputes over sharing river water, and the path ahead to have an elected government in place.
Published – December 21, 2025 03:38 pm IST
