Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the major actor in changed Bangladesh’s political landscape, is seemingly unhappy with the interim administration with the latter failing to make any specific timeline at a meeting on Wednesday for the next parliamentary elections.
The BNP has persistently been pressing for holding the elections by December this year, but the administration led by Muhammad Yunus seems still sticking to its gun for arranging the election between “December and June”.
“We are not happy at all. We have clearly said if the election is not held by December, the country’s political and social situation may deteriorate further,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the secretary general of the party, told reporters after a lengthy meeting with Yunus.
The party wanted a clear election roadmap from the government, which assumed office in August last year after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the face of a mass uprising.
And, the government, now says the roadmap is possible only two months ahead of the election. “The election will be held between December and June,” said Asif Nazrul, the law, justice and parliamentary affairs adviser to the interim government.
He emphasized that the election-time would not exceed the timeline that the chief adviser has mentioned time and again.
Meanwhile, in a dramatic twist of events, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamic party in Bangladesh, shifted its position and demanded that the election to be held by February 2026. The party, earlier, has been pressing for extensive reforms and the trial of the former ruling Awami League party leaders for their roles during the violent upsurge that left an estimated 1,400 people killed, before holding any election.
The latest development came following a recent meeting between BNP chief Khaleda Zia and Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman in London. Zia has been in a medical trip to the United Kingdom.
Emerging from the meeting with Yunus, BNP secretary general Fakhrul expressed frustration for not getting specific roadmap for the next parliamentary polls.
“The Chief Adviser has not provided a specific roadmap for the polls… He (Yunus) has said that elections will be held between December and June next year. But, we have said that December is the cut off time for polls,” he added.
The meetings were being held at a time when US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nicole Chulick visiting Bangladesh to discuss possible US support Dhaka might need for smooth democratic transition.
The US official is in discussion with leaders of the political parties, officials and civil society actors.
Briefing newsmen, Jamaat chief said they shared the party’s stance with Nicole Chulick over the next parliamentary polls.
“The party has conveyed its view that elections should be held before Ramadan, which will fall around mid-February. If we wait until June, monsoon, storms, and various types of natural disasters may come. Then there will be a risk of not holding the election. We want the election to be held before Ramadan. That is our opinion,” he said.
After assuming office, Yunus took a move to carry out reform works in various sectors.
In the first phase, some six reform commissions on elections system, police administration, judiciary, anti-corruption commission, public administration and the constitution were formed in October last and reports of those commissions were already submitted to the Chief Adviser.
The National Consensus Commission has already started talks with the political parties to reach a consensus on some 166 recommendations of the five commissions.
Briefing reporters on Wednesday, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said the general elections will be held between December 2025 and June 2026 as per the pledge of Chief Adviser.
“Whatever anyone says, the polls will not be held after June,” he said.
About the outcomes of the meeting, he said the BNP is very sincere about reforms as the meeting was held on the day in a cordial environment with the BNP leaders.
Outlining the interim government’s plan for holding the national elections, Nazrul said the roadmap will be announced two months before the polls.
Replying to a question about the trial of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina who fled to India on August 5 last, the law adviser said there will be no delay in the trial of Hasina.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) is preparing for the 13th national election in line with the timeline announced by the interim government.
Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarkar said a detailed action plan for the upcoming polls is expected to be released by June or July.
“We are moving forward based on the repeatedly announced timeline by the government, and that is December,” he told reporters at the EC headquarters in the capital.