Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday said that April was not at all suitable for holding a national election, citing a number of challenges including, extreme weather, the timing of Ramadan, and overlapping public examinations.
He made the comments while speaking to reporters at 11:30am on Eid day, after placing a floral wreath at the grave of the BNP founder and former president Ziaur Rahman in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka.
Explaining the BNP鈥檚 stance, Fakhrul said that April brings intense heat and the possibility of storms and heavy rainfall.
He said that the month falls just after Ramadan and coincides with important public examinations.
It did not appear that the timing had been chosen with sufficient consideration, Fakhrul said.
He further said that conducting election campaigns during Ramadan would be extremely difficult.
The BNP secretary general said that the BNP standing committee had met the night before and decided on their position.
In the party鈥檚 view, December would be a more practical and appropriate time for national elections, he mentioned.
Fakhrul was responding to an announcement by chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, who had announced that the next national election would be held on any day in the first half of April in 2026.
Fakhrul said that the BNP had already shared its response, reiterating that the party had consistently called for elections to be held by December.
He added that this had also been the public鈥檚 expectation, but noted that it had not been fulfilled.
Earlier, Fakhrul, along with standing committee members Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed and AZM Zahid Hossain, paid tribute to Ziaur Rahman.
They laid a floral wreath at his grave and offered special prayer seeking forgiveness for the late leader鈥檚 soul.
Several other senior leaders were present, including senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, advisory council members Abdus Salam and Abdul Halim and joint secretary general Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel.
Fakhrul said that the BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia used to visit Ziaur Rahman鈥檚 grave on every Eid before she was imprisoned in 2008.
In her absence, the party鈥檚 secretary general and senior leaders have continued this tradition.
He also conveyed Eid greetings on behalf of the party chairperson Khaleda Zia and acting chairman Tarique Rahman expressing best wishes to the people of Bangladesh.
