Daily Times

Nobel Peace prize-winner turned interim leader of Bangladesh, Mohammad Yunus, said in an interview published Tuesday that he would not call elections before necessary reforms had been pushed through. Yunus, known for his efforts to lift people out of poverty through microlending regimes, took over as the country’s interim leader after violent student protests led to the ouster of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina in August.

Bangladesh’s interim leader has refused to give a timeframe for elections following the ouster of his autocratic predecessor, saying in an interview published Tuesday that reforms are needed before polls. Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was appointed the country’s “chief advisor” after the student-led uprising that toppled ex-premier Sheikh Hasina in August. The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is helming a temporary administration, to tackle what he has called the “extremely tough” challenge of restoring democratic institutions.

“None of us are aiming at staying for a prolonged time,” Yunus said of his caretaker government, in an interview published by the Prothom Alo newspaper.

“Reforms are pivotal,” he added. “If you say, hold the election, we are ready to hold the election. But it would be wrong to hold the election first.”

Hasina’s 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.