DHAKA, Bangladesh, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed was sworn in Sunday as a caretaker prime minister after the main parties failed to agree on a candidate.
Iajuddin's main job as prime minister is to ensure the fairness of national elections in January by appointing a neutral, non-party administration to over see them, the BBC reported.
The 10-minute swearing-in ceremony, broadcast live on television, was boycotted by the main opposition Awami League, which objected to the government's earlier plan to install former Supreme Court Chief Justice K.M. Hasan in the post.
At least 18 people died in riots during the past three days involving opposition insurgents opposed to Hasan's appointment.
Last-ditch talks to find a compromise candidate failed earlier Sunday. The five-year term of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia ran out Friday.
Under Bangladesh's unique system, when an administration comes to the end of its term, it hands authority to an unelected interim government which has 90 days to organize elections.
