In Bangladesh, tens of thousands across the country have called for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The demonstrators fear that free and fair elections will not be possible next January, as the general secretary of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, said at a protest in the capital Dhaka on Tuesday.
The ruling Awami League party called for a counter-action. This is said to have led to clashes between government supporters and critics. At least ten people were injured, police said. The police used tear gas. According to the police, around 50,000 people took part in the protest in Dhaka, while the BNP spoke of at least 150,000 participants.
There were also protests and violent clashes between supporters and critics of the government in other regions of the country. In the southern district of Laxmipur, an opposition supporter was killed in attacks by government supporters, according to a BNP leader.
The BNP and its allies called on the government to resign immediately, dissolve parliament and hand power to an interim government to allow for fair elections. The BNP accuses Hasina’s party of jailing many government critics and rigging the 2014 and 2018 elections.
