Unelected but under pressure: Yunus administration faces tough questions
A growing rift between Yunus and the armed forces raises fears of instability and possible military intervention in a politically volatile landscape.
Mohammad Yunus (Photo: @FormerPMHasina / X)
Trouble is reportedly brewing for the interim government in Bangladesh headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. It may be recalled that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country in August 2024 due to protests by students backed by anti-Awami League (AL) forces. Hasina's abdication had been necessitated by the refusal of the Bangladesh army to suppress the protests by using force. After her departure the protests subsided while the student leaders formed an interim administration that would govern the country till general elections could be held, placing Yunus at its head.
However, with this interim government planning to push back elections to mid-2026, tensions have risen at two levels -within the forces which participated in the protests, as also between the Yunus-led administration and the Army Generals. Since its formation on August 8 last year, the interim government has faced growing pressure from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which wants elections to be held by the end of this year.
On the other hand, a new political entity, the National Citizen Party (NCP) formed by student leaders, wants sweeping reforms and the prosecution of former AL leaders allegedly responsible for the brutal crackdown on student-led protests, to be completed before any election. Adding to the interim government's discomfiture, the Bangladesh army, too, is expressing its dissatisfaction, thereby heralding an uncertain future for the former!
Of the two, differences between the armed forces and the interim administration are more ominous. Yunus and the Chiefs of the country's three armed forces had met on May 20, ostensibly to discuss law and order, but in reality, for the latter to express concern at the protracted rule by an unelected administration. In the past, there have been military coups in Bangladesh and the fear of yet another one is palpable.
However, from the public statements of Bangladesh's Army Chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, advocating national elections be held by December, apparently the armed forces are actually concerned that prolonged deployment of the army for civil duties could compromise the country's de-fences. Not surprisingly, the armed forces, which had been deployed in July 2024, even till this day continue to be deployed because of the volatility of the political situation in the country, something not favoured by its top brass.
General Waker is also worried at the fact that important decisions are being taken by the Yunus regime, such as a proposed humanitarian corridor into Myanmar's Rakhine State, or the potential foreign management of Chattogram Port, and the launch of Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet service, without getting a popular mandate. While such reports of a "cold war" between the armed forces and the civilian administration might be exaggerated, and Yunus has been allowed to stay on, how long such a status quo will be maintained is becoming increasingly uncertain.