The interim government completed one year at the helm on 8 August, the day last year when the advisory council led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus were sworn in following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government by a student-led mass uprising.
Public expectations from this government were immense. Many believed it would steer the nation toward stability after years of authoritarian rule. While the government has achieved notable progress in certain areas, it has fallen short of expectations in others.
The quota reform movement in July 2024 quickly transformed into a movement demanding the fall of the government. The law enforcement forces under the then Awami League government indiscriminately opened fire on the general students and people.
According to the latest notification from the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, at least 836 people were martyred in this movement. On the other hand, a fact-finding commission of the United Nations, in a report published on 12 February this year, stated that the number of martyrs is close to 1,400.
The successes
On 28 December 2024, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said the interim government has three main responsibilities — justice for genocide, reforms, and elections. The advisory council reiterated the same in a statement on 24 May this year.
Among these three responsibilities, there have been several statements from the government in recent days regarding the election. On Thursday at a press conference, Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, quoting the chief adviser, said the second phase of the interim government begins today. The first and foremost task of this second phase is to smoothly conduct the election – which Yunus said the previous day would be held in February 2026 before Ramadan.
On 5 August, in a speech addressed to the nation, Yunus said, "Now it is our turn to fulfil the final responsibility — the election. From this day, after delivering this speech before you, we will enter our final and most important chapter. We will now begin the process of handing over the responsibility to an elected government.
"On behalf of the interim government, I will send a letter to the chief election commissioner requesting that the Election Commission organise the national election before the upcoming Ramadan, in February 2026."
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the July uprising on 5 August, Yunus delivered the much-anticipated July Declaration.
A portion of the manifesto read, "The people of Bangladesh express the intention that the 2024 student mass uprising will be given proper state and constitutional recognition, and this manifesto will be included in the schedule of the reformed constitution of the elected government in the next election."
In addition, work on the July Charter is ongoing, and the National Consensus Commission is holding regular meetings with political parties regarding this matter.
The interim government took the initiative to form 11 reform commissions for state reform. These included commissions on the constitution, judiciary, election system, police, anti-corruption, public administration, local government, labour, health, media, and women's affairs. These commissions have already submitted their reports.
Shafiqul Alam, on Thursday, said from the reports of these 11 reform commissions, the law adviser had recommended 121 urgent and implementable reforms. Among these, 16 have been implemented so far. Another 85 recommendations are in process, and 10 have been partially implemented. Discussions are ongoing regarding whether the remaining 10 recommendations can be implemented.
Regarding the judiciary, the press secretary mentioned that trials have begun in four cases, 27 cases are under investigation, and charge sheets have been filed in 16 cases.
The interim government has shown considerable success in the economic sector. Compared to June last year, food inflation decreased by 3.03% in June this year. In June 2024, food inflation was 10.42%, which dropped to 7.39% in June this year. Not only food inflation, but general inflation has also decreased. In June last year, general inflation was 9.72%, which fell to 8.48% in June this year. This is the lowest rate in nearly three years.
While addressing the nation, Yunus said the target is to reduce food inflation to 6% by December.
In the last fiscal year, remittances reached a record $3.033 billion through banking channels. This has led to an approximate 9% growth in export earnings. As a result, the value of Bangladeshi currency became stronger compared to before, the chief adviser said.
Additionally, the United States has reduced tariffs imposed on Bangladesh from 35% to 20%. Bangladesh held several discussions with the US to reduce tariffs. Therefore, this decision is seen as a diplomatic success of the interim government.
On Thursday, Shafiqul posted on his verified Facebook account, detailing 12 achievements of the interim government.
Those are- restoring peace and stability, economic recovery, progress in trade and investment, democratic reforms and the July Charter, justice for the July massacre, election roadmap and reforms, institutional and legal reforms, freedom of expression and internet rights, balanced foreign policy, expatriate and labour rights, assistance to July martyrs and the injured, and development of maritime resources and infrastructure.
Deterioration in law and order situation: TIB
Although the government achieved many successes in the past year, various analysts believe that it failed to deliver the expected results in several areas.
On Monday (August 4), Transparency International Bangladesh published a research report in a press conference titled "One Year After the Fall of the Authoritarian Regime: Expectations and Realities", highlighting the political violence that occurred over the last year.
It states that in one year, 471 incidents of political violence took place, resulting in 121 deaths.
Commenting on the deterioration of law and order in the past year, TIB's Senior Research Fellow Zulkarnain said, "It appears that instead of fundamental reforms in the police force, attention was only given to promotions, postings, and transfers. The law and order situation has continued to deteriorate over the year. Murders, robberies, thefts, snatching, rapes, protests, lootings, and anarchy have persisted. Moreover, we have observed a rise in tendencies of taking the law into one's own hands or mob justice.
"There has been controversy and criticism regarding the appointment of judges and counsel at the International Crimes Tribunal. Questions have also been raised about their competence, experience, and political affiliations. Although the trial process has started and some progress has been made in certain cases, the basis of the cases has become weak due to the filing of broad charges and the failure to file specific charges according to the nature of the crimes against the accused individuals. As a result, challenges have arisen in preparing the case reports."
Interim government facing obstacles
In a statement issued on 24 May, the advisory council of the interim government stated that during the performance of their duties, the normal working environment was being obstructed in various ways.
The statement said, "The meeting discussed in detail how, in the course of performing their duties, the normal working environment is being obstructed through various unreasonable demands, intentional and unauthorised statements and programmes, which are creating doubt and suspicion among the public."
The statement further said, "Despite numerous obstacles, the interim government is carrying out its responsibilities by disregarding factional interests. If, driven by defeated forces and as part of foreign conspiracies, fulfilling the government's duties is made impossible, the government will publicly present all the reasons and then take further decisions."
Transparency International Bangladesh's Executive Director Iftikharuzzaman also held political parties responsible for the deterioration of law and order after 5 August 2024.
"We have observed that this started precisely on the afternoon of 5 August and has persisted throughout the year. And it intensified and became more widespread. Some parties have issued high-level declarations against these issues and expelled many members, but these problems have not been controlled effectively. The parties have failed to manage the situation. The responsibility for this lies with the parties themselves."
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