The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, fled this week amid mass unrest. This is a chance to replace autocracy with real civil and political rights<\/p>\n
A \u201csecond liberation day\u201d. That is how Muhammad Yunus, Nobel peace laureate, hailed the moment when Bangladesh\u2019s autocratic prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, fled<\/a> by helicopter on Monday amid a huge uprising. Now the 84-year-old microfinance pioneer<\/a> is to head the country\u2019s interim government<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mr Yunus, who is due to arrive home from France on Thursday, has called for elections within months. Though Bangladesh went to the polls in January<\/a>, the last credible, truly competitive election was in 2008. The students who led the protests against the toppled government had no chance to cast a meaningful vote. Turnout this year was rock bottom, with the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) once more boycotting the contest. To no one\u2019s surprise, Sheikh Hasina\u2019s Awami League won a fourth consecutive term.<\/p>\n Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters<\/a> section, please click here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n