Interim leader Muhammad Yunus takes helm in Bangladesh, to seek peace and prepare elections

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took the oath of office as head of Bangladesh’s interim government Thursday after an uprising prompted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and flee to India.

The key tasks for Yunus now are restoring peace in Bangladesh and preparing for new elections following weeks of violence in which student activists led an uprising against what was considered Hasina’s increasingly autocratic 15-year rule.

Bangladesh’s figurehead President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to Yunus for his role as chief advisor, which is the equivalent to a prime minister, in presence of foreign diplomats, civil society members, top businessmen and members of the former opposition party at the presidential palace in Dhaka. No representatives of Hasina's party were present.

Sixteen other people have been included in the interim Cabinet with members drawn mainly from civil society and including two of the student protest leaders. The Cabinet members were chosen in discussions this week among student leaders, civil society representatives and the military.

Hasina quit on Monday after several chaotic weeks that began in July with protests against a quota system for government jobs that critics said favored people with connections to Hasina’s party. But the demonstrations soon grew into a bigger challenge for Hasina’s 15-year rule, as more than 300 people including students were killed amid spiraling violence.

Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets, was in the French capital for the 2024 Olympics when he was chosen for the interim role, and returned home earlier Thursday to tight security at the airport in Dhaka.

In his first comments after his arrival, he told a news briefing that his priority would be to restore order. “Bangladesh is a family. We have to unite it,” Yunus said, flanked by student leaders. “It has immense possibility.”

On Wednesday in Paris, Yunus had called for calm and an end to all partisan violence.

Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who acts as an adviser to his mother, vowed Wednesday that his family and the Awami League party would continue to be engaged in Bangladesh’s politics — a reversal from what he’d said earlier in the week after Hasina stepped down Monday and fled to India.

The president had dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, clearing the path for the interim administration.

On Wednesday, a tribunal in Dhaka acquitted Yunus in a labor law violation case involving a telecommunication company he founded, in which he was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail. He had been released on bail in the case.

Yunus has been a longtime opponent of Hasina, who had called him a “bloodsucker” allegedly for using force to extract loan repayments from rural poor, mainly women. Yunus has denied the allegations.

The chaos on Bangladesh's streets continued after Hasina’s resignation on Monday. Dozens of police officers were killed, prompting police to stop working across the country. They threatened not to return unless their safety is ensured. The looting of firearms also was reported in local media.

The unrest began in mid-July with protests over the quota system, but grew into a broader challenge over an administration that was marked by human rights abuses, corruption, allegations of rigged elections and a brutal crackdown on opponents.

Joy, Hasina’s son, said in a social media post on Wednesday that his family would return to politics despite what he said have been attacks on the Awami League party over the past week. Many observers see Joy as Hasina’s successor in a dynastic political culture that dominates the South Asian nation’s politics.

“If we want to build a new Bangladesh, it is not possible without the Awami League,” he said. “The Awami League is the oldest, democratic, and largest party in Bangladesh."

Overnight into Thursday, residents across Dhaka carried sticks, iron rods and sharp weapons to guard their neighborhoods amid reports of robberies. Communities used loudspeakers in mosques to alert people that robberies were occurring, and police remained off duty. The military shared hotline numbers for people seeking help.

The quick move to select Yunus came when Hasina’s resignation created a power vacuum and left the future unclear for Bangladesh, which has a history of military rule, messy politics and myriad crises.

Many fear that Hasina’s departure could trigger even more instability in the densely populated nation of some 170 million people, which is already dealing with high unemployment, corruption and a complex strategic relationship with India, China and the United States.

Hasina, 76, was elected to a fourth consecutive term in January, in an election boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the vote, and the U.S. and U.K. denounced the result as not credible.