Explainer | With Hasina gone, Bangladesh peers into the unknown. Here’s what we know
- Elections expected to be held as soon as possible but shape of future government uncertain over role of army, future of protesting students
The spectacular downfall of Sheikh Hasina after 15 years helming Bangladesh followed weeks of student protests which saw hundreds killed and chaos rip across the country.
What started as a call for an end to a job quota system snowballed into a mass movement driven by young men and women demanding the 76-year-old leave office.
Then on Monday afternoon, the once unthinkable happened, as one of Asia’s longest-ruling leaders fled by helicopter, her abrupt exit stunning her supporters and critics alike.
Euphoric protesters ransacked her residence and parliament building. But overnight jubilation spiralled into retribution, with reports of widespread looting and more deadly mob violence, some of it targeted at Hasina’s Awami League supporters.
A day after the end of Hasina’s chokehold over Bangladesh, its interim government is still in the early stages of formation. Additionally, there is anxiety over whether the unrest that is still rattling across a country suddenly freed from its once unassailable ruler can be swiftly and peacefully quelled.
Here is an explainer of what may come next:
