[🇧🇩] Reforms carried out by the interim/future Govts.

[Saif]

Government forms selection committee for ACC chairman and commissioner appointments

The government has established a five-member selection committee to recommend appointments for the positions of Chairman and Commissioners of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The committee is chaired by Justice Md. Rezaul Haque from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. A

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Government forms selection committee for ACC chairman and commissioner appointments
FE Online Desk
Published :
Nov 10, 2024 20:24
Updated :
Nov 10, 2024 20:24

Government forms a five-member committee, led by Justice Rezaul Haque, to recommend ACC leadership appointments

The government has established a five-member selection committee to recommend appointments for the positions of Chairman and Commissioners of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The committee is chaired by Justice Md. Rezaul Haque from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

An order was issued by the Cabinet Division on Sunday to form this committee under Section 7 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, specifically to assist with ACC leadership appointments.

The committee members include Justice Farah Mahbub from the High Court Division, Comptroller and Auditor General Md. Nurul Islam, Chairman of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) Prof. Dr. Mobasser Monem, and former Cabinet Secretary Md. Mahbub Hossain.

For each vacant position, the committee will recommend two candidates based on the majority decision of at least three members. The list will then be forwarded to the President for final approval under Section 6 of the Act.

To reach a decision, a minimum of four committee members must be present. The Cabinet Division will provide necessary secretarial support for the committee’s operations.

According to the ACC Act, 2004, the commission comprises three commissioners, one of whom serves as the Chairman. Each commissioner holds a five-year term.

ACC Chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah, Commissioner (Investigation) Md. Zahurul Haque, and Commissioner (Inquiry) Mosammat Asiya Khatun resigned on October 29. All three were appointed during the tenure of the Awami League government.​

 

[Saif]

Govt should be given rational time for reforms: Fakhrul

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in Lalmonirhat on Tuesday said the interim government should be given reasonable time for carrying out reforms. “Rational time should be given to the interim government for reforms. We have to show patience so t

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Govt should be given rational time for reforms: Fakhrul
BSS
Published :
Nov 12, 2024 18:31
Updated :
Nov 12, 2024 18:31

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in Lalmonirhat on Tuesday said the interim government should be given reasonable time for carrying out reforms.

“Rational time should be given to the interim government for reforms. We have to show patience so that the government can conduct all the reforms in a peaceful and disciplined manner. Don’t take everything politically rather problems should be resolved through dialogue,” he said.

He made the remarks while inaugurating Shaheed Zia Smriti Football Tournament as the chief guest in Barobari area of Lalmonirhat district.

The present government should be more careful in appointing advisers, as no dubious person could be appointed as an adviser.

Fakhrul said the fascist Awami League government has taken the country almost to destruction through massive corruption and irregularities.

Lalmonirhat district BNP President and Central Organising Secretary Ahsan Habib Dulu presided over the inaugural function while Bangladesh Football Federation President Tabith Awal, former captain of national football team and Dhaka North City BNP Aminul Islam, among others were present.​

 

[Bilal9]

Need proper reforms before election

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman yesterday said they want the country to go through proper reforms before an election.

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Need proper reforms before election
Says Jamaat ameer

View attachment 9027
Shafiqur Rahman. Photo: Collected

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman yesterday said they want the country to go through proper reforms before an election.

An acceptable election can only be held after a thorough reform, he said.

He was speaking as chief guest in a rally, organised by Pabna district unit of Jamaat, held at the Pabna Edward College yesterday afternoon.

"We want to give a logical amount of time to the interim government before holding the election so that they can make proper reforms in different sectors. Through the path of such reforms, we can have a fair and acceptable election," said Dr Shafiqur.

The roadmap for the reformation should be fixed after holding discussions with political parties, he also said.

Appreciating the initiative of the interim government, the Jamaat Ameer said this government has been formed through a revolution, so they have to do a lot.

"If the interim government fails, then the entire nation will fail. So they have to be successful, and we have to help this government for the sake of proper reformation," he added.

Shafiqur also said they have forgiven Awami League for oppressing their party, but they will never forgive the mass killings conducted by the AL government.

"We want justice for every killing," he said.

The party's district unit ameer Abu Taleb Mondol chaired the rally.

Earlier, Shafiqur met with the families of the martyred students during the student movement in Pabna.​

I like this current leader or Ameer (Dr. Shafiqur Rahman) of the Jamaat in Bangladesh.

A proper leader and role model of the Jamaat (an Islamist entity) should show publicly proclaimed tolerance toward minorities, toward women and generally toward groups who are victims of oppression whether societal or political. I think he passes with stellar colors on all these counts.

Islamists should be the first ones to proclaim fairness and opportunity for non-Muslims to show the true colors of Islam as a tolerant religion in Bangladesh and the spirit of working together with all groups to reach political and religious consensus. The current Ameer understands this principle well.

He is non-corruptible (as leaders of Jamaat generally are in Bangladesh) and fair and reasonable in his statements for tolerance and all-around reasonable behavior. A proper Islamist should be a good Islamist who defends Muslim principles but is stubbornly fair and tolerant toward non-Muslims in our society as well, embracing inclusivity and a helping hand principle as outlined in the tolerant nature of Bangladeshi society.

As a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh - we expect no less of him.

 

[Saif]

Pace of reforms will determine time for polls

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus yesterday told AFP that reforms are needed before his country can elect a government following the ouster of autocratic former ruler Sheikh Hasina.

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Pace of reforms will determine time for polls
Says Prof Yunus in interview with AFP

"We are the interim government, so our period should be as short as possible."— Prof Muhammad Yunus

Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus yesterday told AFP that reforms are needed before his country can elect a government following the ouster of autocratic former ruler Sheikh Hasina.

The speed of reforms "will decide how quick the election will be," the Nobel Peace Prize winner and micro-finance pioneer said in an interview on the sidelines of the COP29 climate talks in Baku.

But he insisted that he would steer the country towards a democratic vote.

"That's a promise that we made, that as soon as we are ready, we'll have the elections, and the elected people can take over, run the country," he said.

He said the country needed to quickly agree on possible constitutional reforms, as well as the shape of the government, parliament and election rules.

"We are the interim government, so our period should be as short as possible."

Yunus was named to lead the government as "chief adviser" after a student-led uprising toppled Hasina in August.

Tens of thousands demonstrated in protests against job quotas that morphed into a nationwide struggle to end Hasina's 15 years of iron-fisted rule.

More than 700 people were killed, many in a brutal police crackdown, before Hasina fled to India on August 5.

Hasina rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.

"Any government would be concerned about stability. We are also," he said.

"We are hoping that we can sort it out and have a peaceful law and order," he added.

"It's only three months after the revolution."

In the three months since becoming Bangladesh's interim leader following a student-led revolution, Yunus has endured political turmoil, impatient cries for elections, and destructive flooding across the low-lying nation.

Impatience for elections in Bangladesh has gained pace since Hasina's ouster, and the silver-haired technocrat said he shared concerns for peace and security in the nation of 170 million.

Bangladesh is struggling financially and, earlier this month, Indian firm Adani slashed cross-border electricity supply by half due to some $850 million in unpaid bills.​

 

[Saif]

The case for internal reforms within political parties

Political parties in Bangladesh need to reconsider their governance structures, taking cues from liberal democracies around the world.

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The case for internal reforms within political parties
Political parties in Bangladesh need to reconsider their governance structures, taking cues from liberal democracies around the world.

VISUAL: ANWAR SOHEL

When a country's politicians seek nationality or residency rights in foreign countries, it signals that its politics has reached an impasse—a dead end—with leaders hedging their bets with an exit strategy should their careers become untenable. This disturbing tendency has become evident in Bangladesh after a report revealed that 24 politicians who served as ministers, advisers or members of parliament during the tenure of the ousted Awami League government hold foreign citizenship or residency cards. They have allegedly acquired these privileges by concealing information, which constitutes a breach of both the law and Bangladesh's constitution. Article 66 of the constitution clearly states that a person who acquires foreign citizenship or pledges allegiance to a foreign state cannot serve as a member of parliament.

This disregard for the people and country they were supposed to serve can be attributed to the erosion of the electoral system, breakdown of good governance, pervasive financial corruption, and unchecked money laundering over the 15-plus years under deposed autocrat Sheikh Hasina. Her misgovernance displayed traits commonly associated with fascism, such as curtailing electoral democracy, stifling political and cultural liberalism, establishing family-centred rule, using security forces for personal and crony interests, and scapegoating political or social groups to deflect blame for any national failure or crisis. Above all, there was an extensive personality cult built through state-funded propaganda.

In Bangladesh 2.0—following Sheikh Hasina's fall and her subsequent refuge in India on August 5, 2024—the state reform drive of the interim government has focused on various areas, including the electoral system, constitution, judiciary, civil administration, and media. However, one of the most essential components of state reform—politics and political parties—has been relatively absent in the reform agenda or even public discourse.

In the case of politicians who have shown divided or no loyalty to Bangladesh by secretly obtaining foreign citizenship, their parties must also share the blame, as there is currently no effective monitoring process for nominating parliamentary candidates or even vetting aspirant party members. Sadly, the charters and rules of political parties are often not aligned with national laws and electoral procedures.

In Bangladesh 2.0—following Sheikh Hasina's fall and her subsequent refuge in India on August 5, 2024—the state reform drive of the interim government has focused on various areas, including the electoral system, constitution, judiciary, civil administration, and media. However, one of the most essential components of state reform—politics and political parties—has been relatively absent in the reform agenda or even public discourse.

Public discourse has long highlighted the need for MPs to exercise independent judgement in their legislative duties, calling for amendments to Article 70 of the constitution, which reads, "A person elected as a Member of Parliament at an election at which he was nominated as a candidate by a political party shall vacate his seat if he resigns from that party; or votes in Parliament against that party." Many argue that MPs should be allowed to vote independently—except in cases of no-confidence motions and finance bills—to strengthen democratic practices. However, Bangladesh's major political parties, including the BNP and Awami League, lack internal democracy. Therefore, before considering constitutional amendments, it is crucial to reform party charters to promote internal democracy.

In recent decades, major political parties have increasingly placed absolute trust in their top leaders, elevating them to near-unchallenged authority. This approach has weakened decision-making processes and stalled internal democratic practices, exposing deep-seated crises in our politics.

Most district-level committees, as well as the central committees, of the parties are not formed through secret ballots or any standardised process. Top positions have been held by the same individuals for decades, while their family members either serve as their deputies or are groomed to take over leadership. Even other key positions, such as general secretary or secretary general, are not elected within party forums but are instead handpicked.

This practice of selecting leaders without transparent processes often leads to street demonstrations and intra-party conflicts. Without a fair and inclusive process, such conflicts—sometimes turning violent—are likely to continue in today's changed political scenario.

Even the nomination process for party tickets in parliamentary or local elections resembles a quasi-feudal system, where grassroots leaders or aspiring candidates have minimal influence. A select group of central leaders decides on nominations based on criteria known only to themselves.

Considering the gravity of all such undemocratic practices, political parties in Bangladesh need to reconsider their governance structures, taking cues from liberal democracies around the world. They should embrace internal democracy at every level of decision-making, moving away from practices that centralise power among elites or family dynasties.

Politics should be seen as a mission, not a profession, and politicians must ensure they have legitimate sources of income. To combat corruption, political parties should require all members to maintain a valid, sustainable profession outside politics.

Proper electoral reforms can enhance discipline and transparency within the political process. In a country where large numbers of people are mobilised for rallies and election day operations, technological improvements could streamline these activities. For instance, introducing smart IDs at polling stations could reduce the need for polling booth agents, lessening dependence on full-time loyalists. In the 11th parliamentary election on December 30, 2018, over 200,000 polling booths were set up across more than 40,000 centres, requiring substantial manpower and resources.

Further reforms should be made to the Representation of the People Order, 1972. Key positions within political parties must be elected by secret ballots in councils, ideally under the Election Commission's supervision, to prevent unopposed or uncontested selections. The commission should also audit party finances annually, mandating transparency in political funding by requiring parties to disclose their donors.

Finally, we must ask: should individuals who lack absolute loyalty to Bangladesh be barred from joining political parties? Should parties voluntarily revoke membership of individuals with foreign citizenship or residency permits, given that they cannot legally run in national elections? The answers are not difficult to reach.

Shamim A Zahedy is a journalist.​

 

[Saif]

UN has started extending support to reform commissions: resident coordinator

The UN has started extending different types of support to the different reform commissions constituted by the interim government to finalise reform proposals in different sectors of governance

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UN has started extending support to reform commissions: resident coordinator

Gwyn Lewis. Photo: UN News

The UN has started extending different types of support to the different reform commissions constituted by the interim government to finalise reform proposals in different sectors of governance.

UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis apprised Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin as she called on him at the foreign ministry yesterday.

She stated that the UN was willing to share their expertise and best practices of other countries with the reform commissions.

Lewis requested for conducting stakeholder consultations across the country to finalize the reform proposals.

She emphasized holding a Bangladesh Development Forum meeting involving the development partners of Bangladesh and relevant government agencies for better understanding of the development partners about the priorities of the interim government.

At the meeting, issues concerning the cooperation of the UN agencies in Bangladesh, support of the UN towards the ongoing reform initiatives of the government including for the electoral process reform, and technical support of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for capacity building of the relevant government authorities were discussed.

Foreign secretary appreciated the UN for their support to the government's reform initiatives.

He reiterated the request of the chief adviser to the UN secretary general for organising an all-stakeholders' conference on Rohingya crisis with a view to finding innovative solution and showing resolve of the international community to a sustainable solution of the protracted Rohingya crisis.​

 

[Saif]

Key questions for designing and implementing reforms

What is the process through which reforms will be enacted and who will execute the reforms?

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Key questions for designing and implementing reforms

FILE VISUAL: REHNUMA PROSHOON

The interim government (IG) has commendably initiated a process of reforms designed to address the malgovernance associated with the outgoing regime. Commissions have been established to prepare an agenda for reforms in six areas: the constitution, public administration, judiciary, law enforcement, corruption, the electoral process. Two separate commissions/committees have been set up to: (a) define the key economic challenges immediately facing the country and (b) identify economic reforms needed to immediately address specific problems and to recommend longer term reforms. Recently, four other commissions have been set up covering health, women, media and labour. This is a heavy load to carry particularly for purposes of implementation. In each of these areas, we have in the past witnessed implementation failure of public policies as well as the progressive degradation of institutions of governance. It is presumed that the commissions and committees will come up with a body of worthy ideas on what needs to be done in their respective spheres of responsibility to reverse this process of malgovernance.

What is less clear to the public at this stage is the process through which the reforms will be enacted and who exactly will be expected to execute the reforms. All of us need to be reminded that the malaise in each sector in need of reforms did not exclusively originate during the tenure of the last regime. In many cases, the problems date back over several decades. Over each regime, failure to address and correct problems aggravated the malaise. The 16 years under the Awami League deepened the malaise to cancerous proportions where severe surgical intervention is needed to save our body politic from irreversible damage.

Given the long-term durability of the problems to be addressed by the respective commissions, we should note that various proposals for reforms, whether through innumerable commissions/committees or from civil society as well as the academic/research community, have already been presented over the years. I myself was involved, during my tenure as a member of the advisory council, in the first caretaker government headed by Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed (December 1990-March 1991), in setting up 29 task forces (TF) to address the numerous problems related to the economy and governance process, which had accumulated during the Ershad era over the 1980s. The TFs were headed and populated by 255 of the best professional talents then available in the country, representing a diversity of policy perspectives who worked exclusively on a voluntary basis to prepare these reports within two months. Professor Muhammad Yunus headed the TF on self-reliance policies, and Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud, currently adviser for education, headed the TF on macroeconomic policy. A number of members of various commissions or committees under the present government, such as Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury and Debapriya Bhattacharya, were members of various TFs under the first caretaker government.

The TF reports were designed to serve both the incoming government elected to office in the March 1991 elections and the opposition in parliament. Sadly, the elected incoming BNP government made little use of the reports. A similar effort, this time by CPD, just prior to the 2001 elections, commissioned 16 TFs, drawing on 160 of our top professionals, to propose policies and reforms necessary at that period. These TF reports were also unaddressed by the then elected government. Other such policy reforms commissioned by particular governments have similarly remained largely unattended by the very government which commissioned the reports. Two such reports which come to mind include a report on Reform of Public Administration commissioned by the first government of Sheikh Hasina (1996-2001) and the report of the Education Commission set up by the AL regime in 2010.

The relevant point at issue remains the commitment of particular regimes to implement any process of reforms. There can be little doubt about the sincerity of any government headed by Professor Yunus to carry out reforms, particularly since it has come into office in the wake of a revolution headed by the youth of Bangladesh who as yet remain uncontaminated by the diseases which have infected the national polity over so many years. On the assumption that the IG remains bound to its commitment to pursue such reforms I present below, in synoptic form, some of the practical questions that need to be addressed by the IG in order to ensure that the reform process yields a more positive outcome compared to earlier efforts at reform.

1. Process of finalising reforms

i. Consultations of the draft reports of the commissions with whom?
​

• Political parties: what will be the criteria for determining which parties will be consulted?​
• Civil society: who from a big contingent will be privileged for consultation?​
• Youth: will this be restricted to those who led the uprising or include other groups who also participated?​
• Stakeholders in issues covered by particular commissions​

ii. There will be differences of opinion originating from groups within each of the above. Whose views will be prioritised in the final reports?


iii. Whilst all (?) political parties will be consulted in the interests of democracy, not all parties are equal in terms of their representative status and prospective electability. How will the IG take this political reality into account?

iv. The final draft of the reports based on the public consultation process will presumably be discussed and approved by the full Advisory Council (AC) and will be regarded as the definitive position of the IG on the reform agenda in a particular area. Will the reform agenda approved by the AC again be discussed by the IG with the political parties and how will disagreements be accommodated?

2. Implementation of reforms

When, how and by whom will the reforms finalised by the AC be implemented?

i. For reforms to be implemented the recommendations from the commissions will need to be operationalised through either policy proposals, legislative acts or even constitutional amendments. Who will be responsible for undertaking this task, the commission or the concerned ministries?

ii. Does the IG plan to begin implementing any or all of its proposed reforms during its tenure? If it decides to implement only a selection of reforms, what will be the guiding principles for choosing which of the reforms are to be implemented?

iii. Some political parties, particularly the BNP, have indicated that reforms can only be implemented by an elected government.
​

• What is the position of the IG on this particular position?​
• Will it only proceed to implement reforms if the political parties give it the go ahead?​
• Should the IG go ahead and begin implementing particular reforms if it believes such reforms need to be prioritised whatever may be the position of the parties?​

iv. In the final analysis, meaningful reforms which impact the governance and lives of citizens will need to be carried forward on a sustainable basis by a government which expects to be in office for a period of 4/5 years. This would normally be possible only for an elected government. However, it can also be possible for an interim government to expand its tenure in order to implement its mandate for reform. Such a decision may encounter strong political resistance, particularly from the major political parties. Is the IG at all inclined to go down this route?

3. Implementation of reforms in the post-IG phase

If the IG is unwilling and/or unable to implement the reforms it may be appropriate to presume that the fate of any significant reform agenda will have to be dependent on its implementation by a prospective elected government. Keeping this in mind the IG will need to consider the commitment, willingness and capacity of the political party/parties, with any credible expectation of forming a post-election government, of actually implementing the reforms.

The implementation process will need to be sustained over the lifetime of the elected regime. This will not just need a sincere buy-in by the concerned political parties but the political vested interests of the party will also have to be in sync with the reform process and its intended outcomes.

It is this contradiction, both in regard to policies and reforms, between the interests of a prospective ruling party, its principal backers and influential social forces, that have historically frustrated the implementation of reform over the lifetime of successive regimes. Keeping such concerns in mind the following questions merit attention:

(i) If a government, mandated by a large electoral plurality, no longer finds it in its interest to initiate or persevere with the reforms, what can be done to ensure the sustainability of the reforms?

(ii) Will the reforms finalised by the IG be so designed as to ensure that prospective elected governments will remain mandated to carry out the reforms?

(iii) What oversight and accountability mechanisms can be built into the reforms to ensure continuous oversight of the reforms by:
​

• Parliament​
• The judiciary​
• Civil society​
• Media​
• The young people who are today demanding reforms​
• Any other concerned body​

From my limited experience in public affairs and rather longer exposure to the state of governance in Bangladesh, I have come to believe that the real problem faced by all governments has not been the deficiency of the policies or lack of reforms but the failure to implement its own policies. These failures originate from a lack of commitment, presence of vested interests which run contrary to the outcomes of policy, and a lack of competence due to the progressive degeneration in the quality of governance. Hopefully, Prof Yunus, the IG, and the various commissions will keep such a perspective in mind in finalising their recommendations for reforms and taking decisions on how to implement them.

Prof Rehman Sobhan is chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).​

 

[Saif]

Hasina regime cooked economic growth data

Many economic parameters were cooked during the past Awami League regime while over US100 billion learnt to have been siphoned off the country, a Brussels-based agency reports and suggests rapid reforms for a rebound. Macroeconomic indicators, including export figures and growth data, were

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Hasina regime cooked economic growth data
Suggests swift political reforms in interim period to improve governance, ensure better economic decision-making
FE REPORT
Published :
Nov 16, 2024 00:34
Updated :
Nov 16, 2024 00:34

Many economic parameters were cooked during the past Awami League regime while over US100 billion learnt to have been siphoned off the country, a Brussels-based agency reports and suggests rapid reforms for a rebound.

Macroeconomic indicators, including export figures and growth data, were believed to be manipulated and were "highly misleading", according to the report styled 'A New Era in Bangladesh? The First Hundred Days of Reform'.

The report, prepared by International Crisis Group and published Friday, says it was an open secret that Hasina's administration was manipulating key economic data for much of its time in office.

It has cited World Bank estimation that from 2015 to 2019 about half of Bangladesh's reported gross domestic product (GDP) growth was "unexplained", in that it could not be attributed to structural improvements or the effects of earlier reforms.

Export statistics were also doctored: in early July, Bangladesh Bank said export figures for the previous fiscal year alone had likely been inflated by $10 billion.

"It was rubber-and-pencil growth," the highly critical report says quoting an international macroeconomist.

"In other words, the numbers were cooked, though to what extent remains unclear," it adds about the alleged cooking of books on data.

The European agency notes that corruption also worsened under the deposed government, particularly in the banking sector, and became a major source of resentment.

More than $100 billion is thought to have been moved offshore illegally over the past fifteen years.


"Industrial-scale looting by ruling-party acolytes" has left some of the country's biggest private banks insolvent, according to regulators, putting depositors' money at risk.

"It's a classic case of crony capitalism," a foreign economist said. "The amount of embezzlement that the country has faced, particularly in the financial sector, is extraordinary."

Foreign governments should also help the interim government recover the proceeds of corruption and state-sanctioned theft that are sitting in banks and property markets outside Bangladesh, the agency suggests.

It notes that despite popular grievances over economic hardship, long-term economic reform is a lesser priority for the interim government than political change.

Its view is that addressing fundamental economic problems, such as low tax revenues, will take years - far longer than the interim government's likely lifespan - whereas political reforms to improve governance can be taken more swiftly and lead to better economic decision-making.

The post-uprising interim government is focused on short-term macroeconomic priorities, such as maintaining stability, building up foreign-currency reserves and bringing down inflation.

The early signs suggest that policymakers can avoid a Sri Lanka-style economic crash that brings down the government.

The interim government, in the recovery process, has secured billions of dollars of additional financial support from multilateral financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Exchange-rate reforms have helped boost foreign reserves. Inflation, while still high, has declined from its July peak, and Dhaka has started to clear its debt in the power sector. It is also seeking to renegotiate terms with some of its external creditors, including Russia and China, says the report.

Led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the administration is expected to remain in office for another year, and maybe, longer. If the interim government falters, however, the country could revert to the status quo ante or even enter a period of military rule.

It should avoid staying in power too long and build consensus on new measures among political parties. External actors should offer aid, India should work to repair its image with the Bangladeshi people, suggests the report.

Foreign governments and multilateral institutions should provide the interim government with technical and financial assistance, including on security, judicial, electoral and economic reforms.​