DHAKA: Bangladesh’s president dissolved parliament on Tuesday, clearing the way for new elections to replace the longtime prime minister who resigned and fled the country following weeks of demonstrations against her rule that descended into violent unrest.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin also ordered opposition leader Khaleda Zia released from house arrest. Zia, a longtime rival of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was convicted on corruption charges by Hasina’s government in 2018.
The streets of Dhaka appeared calmer on Aug. 6, with no reports of new violence as jubilant protesters thronged the ousted leader’s residence.
As the country waited for a new government to emerge, a key student leader said protesters wanted Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus to head an interim government.
Bangladesh’s figurehead president and its top military commander said late on Aug. 5 that an interim government would be formed soon to preside over new elections.
Hasina fled to India by helicopter on Aug. 5 as protesters defied military curfew orders to march on the capital, with thousands of demonstrators eventually storming her official residence and other buildings associated with her party and family.
Protests against a quota system for government jobs that critics said favored people with connections to her party grew into broader challenge to her 15-year rule in recent weeks.
Violence just before and after Hasina’s resignation left at least 109 people dead, including 14 police officers, and hundreds of others injured, according to media reports, which could not be independently confirmed.__Daily Hurriyet
