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A total of 471 incidents of political violence occurred across the country in 11 months from August last year to June 2025, resulting in 121 deaths and injuries to 5,189 people, according to a report of the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
The report reveals that some 92 per cent of these incidents were linked to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), 22 per cent to the Awami League, 5.0 per cent to the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and 1.0 per cent to the National Citizens' Party (NCP).
TIB unveiled the report titled "One Year after the fall of the Authoritarian Regime: Expectations and Realities" at a press conference at its office in the capital on Monday.
TIB also expressed concern regarding factionalism, grabbing and extortion following the fall of the Awami League government.
It observed that tolls had been collected daily from 53 transport terminals and stands in Dhaka city previously under the Awami League's control.
The organisation further observed that activities such as forming mobs, blocking roads, besieging police stations, and staging aggressive protests have contributed to the deterioration of law and order in recent months.
It also said the government's decision-making has often been marked by an ad hoc approach, with noticeable gaps in firmness and strategic planning in administrative governance.
A lack of coordination among responsible officials has also been evident, leading in some cases to indecision or reversal of decisions once made.
While efforts to depoliticise the administration through the removal of high-ranking officials affiliated with a particular political party have been observed, this has, in practice, been replaced by politicisation under a different party alignment, effectively sustaining the same trend, it stated.
Additionally, instability within state institutions -- particularly in the police and civil administration -- efforts to form new political circles and frequent reshuffling of personnel have contributed to institutional inefficiency.
These developments have also revealed a lack of effective control by the government. Most notably, internal resistance has hindered institutional reform efforts, preventing the realisation of expected outcomes in this area.
"Regrettably, there has been no fundamental shift in Bangladesh's political culture -- partisanship, extortion, land grabbing, and the pursuit of dominance remain prevalent. These enduring practices pose significant challenges to anti-discrimination movements, the core spirit of state reform, and the achievement of a restructured political settlement", TIB stated.
Freedom of information and freedom of expression continue to face significant challenges. While space for civil society to offer both cooperation and criticism is generally seen as indicative of a free environment and freedom of speech, there are also clear signs of excessive empowerment of certain quarters and its misuse, as well as a tendency to impose control.
These trends obstruct the aspiration for a new Bangladesh grounded in secularism, equal rights, and non-discrimination, according to TIB.
There is no concrete evidence of progress in implementing the urgent recommendations made by the reform commissions. In many cases, the implementation process has been entangled in bureaucratic complexities, and a tendency to selectively adopt 'pick and choose' recommendations has become apparent, it said.
The interim government's failure to formulate and publicly share a clear and well-planned strategy or roadmap regarding its mandated responsibilities -- namely justice, state reform, and elections -- has led to a recurring crisis of confidence among various stakeholders.
To observe the events of the year following the fall of the authoritarian government, qualitative research methods were employed, focusing primarily on the collection and analysis of qualitative data.
The research, data analysis, and report writing were conducted between August 2024 and July 2025.
TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said, "Despite beginning with immense potential, the journey of state reform has seen significant shortcomings, stagnation, and even regression in reflecting the core spirit of the anti-discrimination movement. No fundamental transformation has been observed in the political and bureaucratic culture of Bangladesh".
He said, "Many of those who consider themselves extraordinarily empowered by the anti-discrimination movement have engaged in unhealthy competition marked by favoritism, extortion, illegal occupation, business over arrests, cases and bail, and spreading sphere of influence. A well-defined strategy was absent since the very beginning to fulfill the interim government's responsibilities".
"Instead, the government performed in an ad hoc nature, marked by indecision resulting from a lack of confidence, and in many cases, decisions were reversed under pressure from influential quarters behind the government or from overly empowered individuals who were part of movement. The immediate implementation of the reform commissions' recommendations remains hostage to internal bureaucratic resistance," he added.
Dr. Zaman further said, "The law and order situation has emerged as the weakest aspect of the interim government. Unrest within the police and administrative institutions, indiscriminate retaliatory cases under the guise of justice, arbitrary detentions, and violence within court premises are undermining the process of ensuring justice for actual offenders".
The report was presented by TIB Senior Research Fellows Shahzada M. Akram and Md. Julkarnayeen.
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