Bangladesh opposition party demands a new election after Hasina's ouster

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of activists and leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party rallied Tuesday in the nation’s capital to demand a democratic transition through an election as an interim government has yet to outline a timeframe for new voting.

The supporters gathered in front of BNP headquarters in Dhaka, where they chanted slogans demanding a new election.

The interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has rolled out a number of plans to reform various sectors of the country, from the Election Commission to financial institutions. But major political parties — including the BNP, which is headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia — want the new election sometime soon.

Yunus took the helm after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country during a mass uprising last month, ending a 15-year stint in power. The protests began in July and morphed into an anti-government movement. Hasina has been living in India since. The country's powerful military is playing a crucial role in running the administration, which faces a number of challenges including worker unrest in its garment industry sector, unstable law and order, and an uncertain economy.

In his recent speeches, Yunus hasn't outlined when a new national election would be held and said they would stay in power as long as the people want them to stay. A team of newspaper editors recently said that Yunus should complete crucial reforms first and stay in power for at least two years.

The BNP initially demanded an election in three months, but later said it wants to allow the interim government time for reforms. The country’s main Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, which was once officially an alliance partner under Zia’s party, also wants to give the Yunus-led government more time before an election.

Tarique Rahman, heir apparent to Zia and the BNP’s acting chairman, spoke online from London where he has been living in exile since 2008. He said Tuesday that his party supported the interim government’s plans for reforms, but such changes would only be sustained if the people have their say in the process.

He didn't specify when a new election should be held, but said any reforms must be endorsed in the next parliament.

“Only a free and fair election can ensure the political empowerment of the people,” he said.

He said that reforms by the Yunus-led government should focus on installing an elected parliament and a new government that would empower the people politically.

“To ensure such an election, reforms must be made in the Election Commission, public administration and security agencies, enabling them to perform effectively,” Rahman said.

In another development, a court in Dhaka on Tuesday allowed interrogators to question two senior journalists facing murder charges while they are held in custody.

Shyamal Dutta, editor of Bengali-language Bhorer Kagoj and former general secretary of the National Press Club in Dhaka, and Mozammel Babu, managing director and editor-in-chief of private station Ekattor TV, were arrested on Monday as they reportedly attempted to flee to India. Both of them face murder charges related to student-led protests. Both of them were known as being close to Hasina.

More than 150 journalists have faced charges such as murder and crimes against humanity since Hasina's fall from power, drawing criticism from groups like Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, and the Human Rights Watch.

After two other journalists were arrested last month and more cases were filed against others, the RSF demanded a halt to such cases.

“The purge of journalists who are considered to be affiliated with the former government has reached a new level. Media professionals are bearing the brunt of the need for vengeance that permeates this terrible legal cabal, which is hurting the image of the political transition underway in Bangladesh," said Antoine Bernard, RSF’s director of Advocacy and Assistance.

“The interim authorities, headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, must do everything in their power to end this vicious process,” Bernard said.

Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy director of the agency’s Asia division, told The Associated Press last month that it was “extremely concerning that the justice system is replicating its abusive and partisan behavior since the fall of the Awami League government (of Hasina), with arbitrary arrests and failure in due process, merely reversing those targeted.”

Also on Tuesday, the government granted magistrate powers to commissioned officials of the military to operate outside metropolitan areas across the country for the next two months. A notification by the Ministry of Public Administration said the empowered military officials would be able to apply their power in dealing with organized crime.