TANIM AHMED and MOHIUDDIN ALAMGIR

Poised on the cusp of discussions on its much-promised reforms, the interim government completes six months in office following a wave of turbulence.

The six major reform commissions are set to submit their full set of proposals today while Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus’s government grapples with restoring order as angry protesters have torn down symbols of Awami League’s autocratic regime.

Prof Yunus faces perhaps the most crucial phase as head of the interim government that took power on August 8, 2024 after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India after facing a popular uprising. Since then, the Nobel Peace laureate, who took over the helm of Bangladesh amid high expectations, has pledged “reforms followed by election” almost every time he was asked about an electoral roadmap.

Now that the recommendations to reform the constitution, electoral system, judiciary, civil service, police and the Anti-Corruption Commission are in, Prof Yunus faces the challenging task of reaching a political consensus before he can proceed with the election.

During the last 15 years of Awami League’s absolute ironclad rule, it had rendered the parliament a rubber stamp, destroyed the electoral system, politicised the civil service and judiciary, severely eroding their integrity, and instituted a state-sponsored system of rampant corruption. It will now be the political parties who decide on the extent of reforms on each front.

Since expectations for reforms and ideological stance on key issues diverge sharply across the political spectrum, the challenge of achieving consensus is formidable.

But that is not the only challenge the Yunus-led interim government faces.

SEE PAGE 2 COL 1