Syeda Rizwana Hasan, a key adviser in the interim government, has reaffirmed that the upcoming parliamentary election will be held within the previously announced window of December 2025 to June 2026, despite demands from a major political camp for polls to be held by the end of this year.
“There is no scope to go beyond this timeframe. The Chief Adviser and the Advisory Council are working toward this goal,” said Rizwana, who oversees the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, while talking to reporters at Dhaka University on Friday.
Her comments come amid rising pressure from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which has insisted the election be held by December 2025 to avert further political instability.
The tension has reportedly prompted Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus to express his willingness to resign.
The interim government was not formed solely to conduct elections, said Rizwana, who also holds charge of the Ministry of Water Resources.
“This administration has taken on three core responsibilities: reform, justice, and elections. The national election will be held within the December-to-June timeframe,” she said.
“There is absolutely no scope for deviation from this window, and any alternative discourse is unnecessary,” she said adding that the trial into the killings during the last year’s uprising will be starting soon.
She made the remarks following her participation in the 24th National Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Bangladesh Zoological Society.
Responding to questions about the Chief Adviser’s reported intent to step down, she said, “There are significant responsibilities tied to specific timelines. If anything, further is to be said, whether about elections or governance, it should come from him directly.”
When asked if the government was under any pressure, Rizwana replied, “There is pressure driven by public expectation whether we are delivering or not. That is the only kind of pressure we recognize. For example, if a road from the Secretariat to Jamuna is closed, people want to know why. These are problems that can be addressed through dialogue.”