US Senate majority leader urges path to swift elections after Bangladesh PM Resigned

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks during the annual Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany February 17, 2024. /Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urged the establishment of a balanced interim government in Bangladesh that could set up swift democratic elections after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on Monday.

Hasina's exit came after hundreds of people were killed in a crackdown on demonstrations that began as protests against job quotas and swelled into a movement demanding her downfall.

"PM Hasina's violent reaction to legitimate protests made her continued rule untenable. I applaud the brave protestors & demand justice for those killed," Schumer posted on social media platform X.

"It's critical to establish a balanced interim government that respects the rights of all & sets up democratic elections swiftly," the Democratic senator added.

The U.S. State Department in recent weeks had urged the Bangladeshi government to uphold the right of peaceful protest. The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Bangladesh's army chief, announced Hasina's resignation in a televised address to the nation and said an interim government would be formed.

Bangladesh has been engulfed by protests and violence after student protests last month against reservation quotas in government jobs escalated into a campaign for the ouster of Hasina, who won a fourth straight term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition.

The U.S. State Department said in January that those elections in Bangladesh were not free and fair, adding that Washington was concerned by reports of vote irregularities and condemned violence that took place.

Amid the recent protests against Hasina and some of the worst violence since the birth of Bangladesh more than five decades ago, the State Department had urged Americans in July not to travel to the country, citing what it called "civil unrest."