Bangladesh鈥檚 Yunus says no elections before reforms

Bangladesh's Chief Adviser of the interim Government Muhammad Yunus speaks during a joint press conference with Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, in Dhaka on October 4, 2024. (AFP/File)
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  • Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was appointed the country鈥檚 鈥渃hief adviser鈥� after a student-led uprising toppled ex-PM Hasina
  • The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is helming a temporary administration, to tackle the challenge of restoring democratic institutions

DHAKA: Bangladesh鈥檚 interim leader has refused to give a timeframe for elections following the ouster of his autocratic predecessor, saying in an interview published Tuesday that reforms are needed before polls.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was appointed the country鈥檚 鈥渃hief adviser鈥� after the student-led uprising that toppled ex-premier Sheikh Hasina in August.
The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is helming a temporary administration, to tackle what he has called the 鈥渆xtremely tough鈥� challenge of restoring democratic institutions.
鈥淣one of us are aiming at staying for a prolonged time,鈥� Yunus said of his caretaker government, in an interview published by the Prothom Alo newspaper.
鈥淩eforms are pivotal,鈥� he added. 鈥淚f you say, hold the election, we are ready to hold the election. But it would be wrong to hold the election first.鈥�
Hasina鈥檚 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
More than 600 people were killed in the weeks leading up to her ouster, according to a preliminary United Nations report which said the figure was likely an underestimate.
Her government was also accused of politicizing courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections, to dismantle democratic checks on its power.
Yunus said he had inherited a 鈥渃ompletely broken down鈥� system of public administration that needed a comprehensive overhaul to prevent a future return to autocracy.
鈥淩eforms mean we will not allow a repetition of what happened in the past,鈥� he added.
Yunus also batted away criticism at the numerous politicians, senior police officers and other Hasina loyalists arrested on murder charges after her government鈥檚 ouster.
The arrests have prompted accusations that Yunus鈥� caretaker government would hold politicized trials of senior figures from Hasina鈥檚 regime.
But Yunus said it was his intention that any criminal trials initiated against those arrested would remain free from government interference.
鈥淥nce the judicial system is reformed, then the issues will come forward, about who will be placed on trial, how justice will be carried out,鈥� he said.
At least 25 journalists 鈥� considered by Hasina鈥檚 opponents to be partisans of her government 鈥� have been arrested for alleged violence against protesters since her downfall.
Press watchdog Reporters Without Borders has condemned those arrests as 鈥渟ystematic judicial harassment.鈥�
But Yunus insisted he wanted media freedom.
鈥淲rite as you please,鈥� he told the newspaper.
鈥淐riticize. Unless you write, how will we know what is happening or not happening?鈥�