Bangladesh's students-led party refuses to sign reform charter

Bangladesh's most powerful political parties signed a charter on Friday aimed at ensuring democratic reform after next year's elections, following a mass uprising that toppled the previous government.

- Associated Press

However, celebrations of the government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus were muted after one party refused to sign, with police also firing tear gas to quash rock-throwing protesters ahead of the ceremony.

The National Citizen Party (NCP), made up of many students who spearheaded the uprising that ended Hasina's rule, boycotted the ceremony.

Yunus, 85, has championed the document as his legacy, saying he inherited a “completely broken down” system and that reforms are needed to prevent a return to authoritarian rule.

"This is the moment we are ushering in a new Bangladesh," Yunus told the ceremony, held in front of parliament in Dhaka. “We have been reborn.”

The South Asian nation of 170 million people has been in political turmoil since Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister by a student-led revolt in August 2024.