Opinion: State of Emergency in Bangladesh

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When temporary Bangladeshi leader Iajuddin Ahmed was sworn in last fall -- required by the Bangladeshi constitution to preside over the country for the 90 days leading up to the election -- he faced such a divided nation that he told reporters, ‘Pray for me.’

It didn’t work. Ahmed stepped down today after declaring a state of emergency in the country and effectively postponing elections, originally scheduled for Jan. 22. International monitors pulled out, citing the impossibility of a credible election, particularly since the opposition Awami League declared a boycott. The decisions came after months of protest in which over 40 people have died.

Much of the animosity comes from the top.

The Awami League’s Sheik Hasina and the Bangladesh National Party’s Begum Khaled Zia are bitter rivals. The well-connected women -- Hasina is the daughter of Bangladesh’s (assassinated) founding leader and Zia is the widow of a former president (also assassinated) -- jointly led a 1991 revolt against their country’s military dictatorship. Since then they have fought each other for the prime minister post. Hasina won once; Zia won twice, including the most recent election.

Unless the two parties make amends, Bangladesh could see more chaos and violence in the coming months, a problem for a historically turbulent country with a 45% poverty rate and brewing Islamic extremism. Ahmed’s decision to step down clears the way for a cleaner election, but the new elections committee needs to act soon for the sake of stability and development.