Muhammad Yunus announces resignation ahead of Tarique Rahman's oath-taking in Bangladesh

Muhammad Yunus

• Muhammad Yunus resigns as Bangladesh's interim leader
• Tarique Rahman set to become Bangladesh's new prime minister
• BNP coalition wins two-thirds majority in parliamentary election

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Hours before the swearing-in of Tarique Rahman as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, country's interim leader Muhammad Yunus on Monday announced his resignation in a televised address to the nation.

On August 8, 2024, 85-year-old Muhammad Yunus returned to Bangladesh from France, where he had been attending the 2024 Olympic Games, and was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government. The development came as a result of a Gen-Z uprising that overthrew Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year term and forced her to flee the country, seeking solace in neighbouring India.

Following the Gen-Z revolt in 2024, which resulted in the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, Yunus was brought in to head the interim administration as the consensus candidate. At first, Yunus was reportedly hesitant about the job, insisting he was “not a political person”. But as protests escalated and deaths mounted, he stepped in, in “a moment of obligation”.

Less than ⁠two months after returning from 17 years of self-imposed exile in London, Tarique Rahman  won one of Bangladesh’s most pivotal elections and is set to become prime minister, leading the country as his parents once did.

A coalition led by his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a decisive two-thirds majority in the parliamentary election, according to the results published in the official gazette of the Bangladesh Election Commission.

An election campaign, marked by many firsts,  Rahman pledged to recalibrate Bangladesh’s international partnerships to attract investment without tying the country too closely to any single power, in contrast with Hasina, who was seen as ‌aligned with New Delhi.

He has also highlighted expanding financial aid for poor families, reducing reliance on garment exports by promoting industries such as toys and leather goods, and introducing a two-term, 10-year limit for prime ministers to deter autocratic tendencies.