On August 2nd, the interim government of Bangladesh, led by Muhammad Yunus, announced that the government is preparing to unveil the much-anticipated ‘July Declaration’ on August 5th, marking one year of the interim rule and the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime. The declaration aims at giving constitutional legitimacy to the students’ uprising and the consequent overthrow of the Hasina government. The students’ group has been demanding for the constitutional recognition of their movement in order to seek greater significance and stature in Bangladesh’s polity.
The press team of Yunus said that the declaration will be unleashed in front of representatives from all the factions of Bangladeshi polity, who supported the mass uprising the previous year. “The interim government has finalized the draft of the July Declaration. It will be presented on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, before the nation in the presence of all parties in favour of the mass upheaval”, the press statement read. The declaration has been drafted by a government body called as National Consensus Commission.
Information Advisor Mahfuj Alam, who is popularly called as the “main brain” or mastermind behind the students’ uprising the previous year, said that much much-anticipated ‘July Declaration’, is now a ‘reality’. “It will be announced on August 5th. I thank everyone for keeping this issue alive in the public conscience and helping to pave the way for its implementation”, said Mahfuj Alam, who is also the top leader of Students Against Discrimination(SAD) group, a pivotal and kingpin students’ group that played a major role in the ouster of Sheikh Hasina group.
One Year of Unelected Government in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is under the rule of an interim government under the leadership of its Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus since the fall of Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024. Fresh elections for the country will be held in April 2026. The interim government claims that adequate time will be required in order to bring in necessary reforms to hold the elections in a fair and democratic manner. The anticipated ‘July Declaration’ will carry certain aspects with respect to the election reforms as well.
Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government was thwarted from power in August 2024, as a result of massive students’ protests carried out across the country in July against the government’s alleged discrimination and unfair practices in the job quota system. Meanwhile, the interim government has also banned the Awami League,the political party of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, from contesting in elections.
