March for Yunus: Dhaka to witness recent protests as Army chief pushes for election

Supporters of Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus have introduced a protest rally in Dhaka on Saturday amid stories that Yunus has threatened to give up his submit.

Yunus supporters have introduced a protest rally referred to as ‘March For Yunus’ at Dhaka’s Shahbagh and posters have been put up within the capital metropolis calling on individuals to affix the march.

The protesters, as per the posters, have two key calls for: “Keep Yunus in energy for 5 years” and “reforms first, elections later”.

The protests come after stories stated Yunus had threatened to resign within the wake of Bangladesh military chief basic Waker-Uz-Zaman’s name for recent elections. He stated on Wednesday that nationwide elections ought to be held by December this yr, reaffirming it’s the unique proper of an elected authorities to find out the nation’s future.

Elections, every time held, will finish Yunus’ time period because the de facto prime minister of Bangladesh. He was appointed de facto prime minister after Sheikh Hasina was pressured to resign amid mounting stress from the Army and protesters. She later fled to India.

Earlier, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) requested for a “clear roadmap” for holding elections as quickly as doable.

On Tuesday, BNP member Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir warned of a “new black shadow” looming over Bangladesh’s democratic future. He alleged a “well-orchestrated conspiracy” is underway to delay the upcoming election and deprive residents of their voting rights.

Yunus, nevertheless, has maintained that the polls might be held between Dec this yr and June 2026, relying on the completion of reforms.

Bangladesh witnessed violent protests for months, forcing the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and file the nation.

The protests started in early July as peaceable calls for from college college students to abolish quotas in civil service jobs. However, the protests later turned violent as college students and safety personnel clashes, killing over 300 individuals. Hasina’s authorities got here underneath hearth for the brutal crackdown however she maintained that officers had been solely doing their job.

The motion escalated right into a full-fledged mass rebellion after the federal government was accused of mass killings of protesters, often known as the July bloodbath. The protests finally led to Hasina’s ouster following which Yunus was appointed as the top of the interim authorities, supported by General Waqar-uz-Zaman, the Army chief.