At that time, Social protests had turned deadly in Bangladesh as a result of delayed prosecutions and convictions for war crimes committed during the Bangladesh War of Independence. The 2014 general election was also going to be on the new president's agenda. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies said they would boycott the election if it was not held under a neutral interim government. However, the ruling Awami League's leader Sheikh Hasina said her government would preside over the electoral process.