On Friday, the Chief Advisor to Bangladesh's caretaker government, Muhammad Yunus, stated that the next national elections in the country will be held in the first half of April 2026.
Addressing in a TV speech on the eve of Eid al-Adha, which will be celebrated in Bangladesh on Saturday, Yunus briefed the people: "I'm announcing to the countrymen that the next national elections will be held on a day in the first half of April 2026." He also said the Election Commission would publish an elaborate election roadmap at a "suitable time."
Yunus also stressed in his speech the interim government's "accomplishments" in the past ten months, and how its dedication to a three-point agenda of justice, reforms, and the coming elections.
"We want the maximum number of voters, candidates and parties to take part in the next elections. Let this be remembered by the nation as the freest, fairest and most impartial election," Yunus said.
His statement comes amid increasing calls from several political parties for elections to be organized by December this year.
Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee, has recently stated that national elections may be held before December, giving the argument that reforms—except for constitutional amendments—can be done within a month if there is wide agreement.
“December is far too late. It is possible to hold the election before then. If the reform proposals, excluding those related to constitutional amendments, are accepted through national consensus, they can be implemented in less than a month,” Salahuddin said during a discussion organised by the Gono Odhikar Parishad on Tuesday.
He also emphasized that there is no acceptable reason to delay the elections past December. "We are all supporters of democracy and an early election to seal the right of people to vote. There is no single reason why the election should be held after December," he said.
The caretaker administration has been subjected to increasing pressure from other political parties, especially the BNP, to hold elections prior to the end of the year. The BNP continues to believe in winning a parliamentary majority, while Yunus, taking advantage of the nation's unstable political environment dominated by instability and violence, demands implementing democratic reforms first, which delays elections to April 2026.
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman urged the country's youth and citizens to call for polls by December last month.
"Caretaker governments in Bangladesh in the past have demonstrated that national elections can be arranged and held within three months. Yet, 10 months into their rule, the interim government headed by Yunus still remains to fix a date for the election. Bangladeshis deserve something better. We aspire to a country free of authoritarianism, guided by a government chosen through a legitimate vote, and answerable to its people," Rahman stated while addressing a BNP rally virtually from London.
He called on the rulers to relinquish power, "If any of you wish to remain in power, quit your jobs, join the people, contest elections, and if you are voted to power, come back to head the government."
In the meantime, Yunus is gearing up to make another foreign trip to London from June 10-13, planned shortly after Eid.
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