The National Citizen Party (NCP) has voiced stout concerns over the possible advancement of the next parliamentary election following a closed-door meeting in London between Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman.
At a press conference at the capital’s Banglamotor party office on Friday, NCP leaders said they viewed the announcement of a tentative election timeframe as a betrayal of the promises made to the people during July Uprising.
“The interim government seems to be steering toward polls by skipping over justice and reform. This will not be an election for 18 crore people,” said Nasiruddin Patwary, chief coordinator of the NCP.
“If they proceed in this manner, it will only give rise to another form of fascism. People will be forced into another mass movement.”
On Friday, Muhammad Yunus and Tarique Rahman held a 90-minute meeting in London, after which a joint statement said elections could be held by the first half of February 2026, ahead of the start of Ramadan.
Present at the meeting were National Security Adviser Khililur Rahman, BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, and Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.
Reacting to the joint statement, Patwary said, “This is not the spirit of the uprising. No signal on reform, no commitment to justice — just an election date announced to appease one side.”
Senior NCP leaders Ariful Islam Adeeb and Sarwar Tushar echoed the sentiment. “If an election timeline is to be decided, it should have involved families of those martyred in the July Uprising,” Adeeb said. “Making these decisions by sitting with one party abroad is a dangerous precedent.”
Tushar added, “No structure for reform has been agreed upon, yet the chief adviser has already dismissed the idea of a referendum. That is not a positive signal.”
The NCP said it would not take part in any election unless there is visible progress on justice for the July-August violence and a transparent roadmap for structural political reform. “If we rush into elections to please one party while ignoring reform, we are essentially rewriting the rules of democracy to serve a narrow interest,” Patwary said.
The party further warned that any election process conducted without national consensus could lead to renewed instability. “Bangladesh’s future cannot be decided abroad,” Patwary warned. “These are national issues, and they must be resolved with national dialogue.”