The political turbulence in Bangladesh following the appointment of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus as Chief Advisor and head of the interim government has taken a sharp and troubling turn. What was once hailed as a bold experiment in transitional justice and democratic renewal now teeters on the edge of dysfunction. The core of the issue lies in a fundamental misalignment: Yunus’s vision of “reforms first, elections later” does not match the immediate political appetite of Bangladesh’s major players, who view the interim phase not as a transformative opportunity, but as a tactical springboard back to power.

The ban on the Awami League ~ Bangladesh’s founding party and dominant political force for much of its post-independence history ~ was a seismic move, framed as a correction to years of alleged authoritarian overreach. For the opposition, especially the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), this was the long-awaited clearing of the political field. But with the Awami League out of the way, patience has quickly worn thin. The........

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