Description: Supporters of the banned Awami League party blocked public transportation and called for massive protests against the interim government of Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus. Transportation was brought to a standstill, schools were closed and soldiers were dispatched on the premises of the special tribunal investigating the deadly student uprising in 2024 which ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Yunus announced that the government would hold a referendum regarding the adoption of the newly formed national political charter on the day of the election in Feb. The charter outlined limited powers to the next Prime Minister, expansion of the presidential powers, judicial jurisprudence and protection of the fundamental citizens’ rights. The National Citizens Party, formed by the student protesters and some of the left – leaning parties have refused to sign the charter accusing the current government of curtailing real reform with empty promises without any obligatory or legal guardrails. Hasina’s Awami League party was banned from the election, while the former Prime Minister in exile has inflamed the public narrative against the interim government in recent weeks.
Impact: The political crisis in Bangladesh continues to lean towards civil unrest and continued political violence with Awami League supporters threatening protests and further disruption of public services. The absence of political unison regarding the adoption of the national charter signals widening divisions within the country’s political circles deriving from ethnic, societal and religious differences and interests. Depending on the intensity of the announced protests, the country is facing a renewed internal crisis and entrapment into a revolving cycle of political violence. The Awami League supporters emboldened by Hasina’s public statements in interviews for the Indian media outlets could take their frustrations with the government’s ban on the party and the unsatisfactory reforms in the political charter to the streets which would most likely be met with counter protests from the NCP and the other left – leaning parties including the largest Muslim party, Jamaat e Islami. Civil unrest at this point seems imminent in the absence of political cohesion between the parties in the country which are pursuing independent and diverging charters, further inciting tensions and politically inspired violence.