Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of the interim govt of Bangladesh, on Friday announced that the much-awaited elections will take place in first half of April in 2026. Addressing the nation on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha, he said that the Election Commission will provide a detailed roadmap for the elections in due course.
The Chief Advisor said, “After reviewing the ongoing reform activities related to trial, reform, and elections, I am announcing to the nation today that the next national election will be held any day in the first half of April 2026. Based on this announcement, the election commission will unveil a detailed election roadmap to you at an appropriate time.”
He said that the interim govt had three major tasks, reform, justice and elections. He said, “In that regard, I believe that by the next Eid-ul-Fitr, we will be able to reach an acceptable point on reform and justice. Especially, all will be able to see visible progress on the trial of crimes against humanity – which is the government’s collective responsibility towards the martyrs of the July mass uprising.”
He added that the govt has “held discussions with all parties to organise the most free, fair, competitive and acceptable elections in history.” Yunus said, “There is immense public and political interest regarding the timing of the election. As I’ve said before, it will be held between December and June. The government is working to ensure an environment conducive to a credible election within this timeframe.”
Notably, Yunus has been saying for last several months that the elections will take place between December 2025 and June 2026. On the other hand, several political parties, specifically the BNP, have been demanding polls by December this year. They say that the elections should take place first and major changes in the constitution should be done by an elected government.
On the other, some other parties including Jamaat-e-Islami say that the elections should take place only after reforms are completed.
Notably, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman had also said that elections should take place before December 2025. He had added that the interim govt should not take major decisions like allowing a UN corridor to Myanmar through Bangladesh and handing over operations of Chittagong port to foreign companies.