Bangladesh is a republic. A republic is a form of democracy in which citizens elect their representatives, who make laws and govern the country on their behalf. Article 1 of the Constitution of Bangladesh declares the country to be a unitary, independent, sovereign Republic known as the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Article 7 states that all powers in the Republic belong to the people and that their exercise on the people’s behalf must be conducted under the authority of the Constitution.
All democratic countries are essentially republics, as people elect their representatives to govern the country, although a few are constitutional monarchies, such as the United Kingdom, Sweden and Japan. However, the word “republic” may not appear explicitly in a country’s official name. For example, the USA, although a republic by constitutional design, uses the formal name United States of America. According to the UN’s official list of country names, around 150 of the world’s 193 UN member states have an official long-form name that includes the word “republic,” such as the Federal Republic of Germany or the French Republic. However, there is also the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, whose political system is authoritarian. So, the word “republic” in a country’s name or constitution does not automatically guarantee true democracy or power to the people. Structural safeguards and the mindset of politicians, the bureaucracy, the judiciary and the citizenry are the key factors that determine the strength and validity of a republic.
The United States provides a contemporary illustration of the importance of institutional safeguards. In his second term, President Donald Trump has issued many executive orders that are controversial and autocratic. However, he couldn’t just implement them unchecked using executive power alone. His administration has faced hundreds of active lawsuits and dozens of temporary or permanent blocks from federal judges targeting major policies involving birthright citizenship, immigration, tariffs, transgender rights and other executive actions. This is how structural safeguards work to restrain authoritarian rulers.
In the absence of adequate safeguards, a republic may gradually slip away from the hands of the people into the control of a nexus of autocraticpoliticians, sycophantic bureaucrats and a politicised judiciary. History offers many examples of democracies deteriorating into autocracies or dictatorships. Hungary’s Viktor Orban won a legitimate, democratic election in 2010. Once in power, his party rewrote the constitution, packed the constitutional court with party loyalists, gerrymandered voting districts and consolidated state and private media. Hungary retained multi-party elections, but the playing field was tilted so heavily in favour of the ruling party that a fair defeat became structurally improbable. However, in April 2026, after 16 years of uninterrupted rule, Orbán’s Fidesz party suffered a landmark election defeat to the opposition Tisza Party, led by Péter Magyar. Large-scale public protests, massive political rallies and sustained grassroots movement played a decisive role in shaping the political climate leading up to the election.
What occurred in Hungary and in Bangladesh during the 15 years prior to the July 2024 mass movement is a phenomenon political scientists call democratic backsliding, autocratic decay or the establishment of a competitive authoritarian regime. Democratic backsliding typically involves a predictable multistep pattern followed by the rulers: Politicising independent institutions, including electoral commissions, anti-corruption bodies, and the judiciary, so they serve the ruling party rather than the public. Using state agencies like tax authorities, police, and security forces to file lawsuits, arrest figures, or ban opposition parties from competing fairly. Buying up independent media houses or starving them of advertising, while funnelling public contracts to regime-aligned oligarchs or party elites. Amending the constitution or changing electoral laws to dismantle the electoral process or remove checks on executive power. We can readily recognise that these are exactly the actions and manoeuvres employed by Sheikh Hasina’s regime in Bangladesh.
The July uprising was, among other things, a rejection of the idea that the state belongs to a ruling party. The core message of the uprising was that the republic belongs to its citizens and must be reclaimed.
A democratic republic requires institutions capable of saying “no” to the government when necessary. Parliament must be able to scrutinise the executive. The judiciary must be sufficiently independent to protect citizens against arbitrary state actions. The Election Commission must be trusted by both winners and losers. The civil service and law-enforcement agencies must serve the republic rather than any party in power. The same principle applies to the Anti-Corruption Commission, human-rights institutions, the media and local government.
In February 2026, Bangladesh completed a historic transfer of power through a free and fair national election with a voter turnout exceeding 59 per cent. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a decisive victory, securing more than a two-thirds majority in the 300-seat parliament, and party chairman Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Prime Minister on 17 February. Keeping in mind the backdrop of the election, the July 2024 uprising, the people’s mandate obtained by BNP should not be understood simply as a mandate to rule, but as a mandate to rebuild: to rebuild trust in elections, independence in institutions, accountability in government and equality before the law.
The BNP has repeatedly asserted its commitment to execute necessary reforms to ensure that democratic backsliding cannot recur. The Prime Minister has also demonstrated opposition to the politicisation of state institutions and shown respect for freedom of expression. However, democratic institutions must not rest solely upon the goodwill of political leaders. The structural safeguards and appropriate checks and balances must be established; otherwise, the system will remain vulnerable to future autocratic rulers.
Rebuilding the Republic requires not only new rules and stronger institutions but also a fundamental change in political and civic attitudes. Constitutional amendments and institutional reforms alone cannot transform a bureaucracy accustomed to serving political masters, a judiciary vulnerable to executive influence, or citizens who expect privileges from political connections rather than equal treatment under the law. Therefore, a fundamental change in the mindset of those who govern, those who administer the state, those who interpret the law, and those who elect political leaders is an imperative.
With over a two-thirds majority in the parliament, the BNP government has an opportunity to demonstrate that an overwhelming democratic mandate can be used to dismantle practices that usurp power. It can strengthen independent institutions, establish transparent standards for public appointments, protect freedom of expression and ensure that allegations of corruption and abuse are investigated impartially. But the ultimate test will be whether it accepts the same rules and restraints for itself that it expects others to obey.
The July–August 2024 uprising demonstrated that citizens can challenge an entrenched political order. The electoral mandate of 2026 provides a new opportunity to translate that demand for change into lasting institutional and political reform. Whether that opportunity succeeds will depend not only on the laws enacted or the institutions established, but also on the attitudes of those entrusted with implementing them. A republic cannot be reclaimed simply by changing its rulers. It must be reclaimed in the way power is understood, exercised and challenged. The mandate provides the authority to begin. The mindset determines whether the transformation will endure.
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The writer is a former corporate professional and academic
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