Key Bangladesh party protests against government

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s key political party held large-scale protests against the interim government for the first time on Wednesday, as political rows spill onto the streets including demands for an election date.

Thousands of supporters of the powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) rallied in Dhaka, shutting down central streets, demanding their candidate be installed as the capital’s mayor.

The protests are significant in that they pitted the BNP, seen as the frontrunners in highly anticipated elections, against the caretaker government.

The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus took over following a mass uprising in August 2024 that toppled then prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

No date has been set for elections but Yunus has promised polls will be held by June 2026 at the latest.

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The BNP have accused the interim government of blocking a ruling by the Election Commission that named their candidate as the winner of 2020 elections, which were seen as rigged by Hasina’s now-banned Awami League party.

But the BNP’s would-be mayor Ishraque Hossain has not taken up his post, with city authorities run instead by a government-appointed administrator.

BNP supporters have padlocked the gates of the mayoral office for the past week suspending civic services, demanding Hossain take up the post – pointing out that this has already happened in the country’s second city Chittagong.

“The government is not understanding the language of the people,” said protester Rawshan Ara, 43, adding that she and fellow BNP loyalists would escalate protests if Hossain does not become mayor.

Senior BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed said protests had, so far, been led by local activists – but warned that the wider party would back the demonstrations if the government did not take action.

“We are supporting this movement,” Ahmed said. “If the government does not respond, we will have to join the movement actively as a party.”

Also on Wednesday, the National Citizen Party (NCP) – made up of many of the students who spearheaded the uprising against Hasina – protested outside the Election Commission, alleging it had been taken over by the BNP.

“The Election Commission no longer exists as a constitutional body”, key NCP leader Nasir Uddin Patwary said.

“It has become a party office of the BNP and is now acting as the party’s spokesperson.”