Interim government chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday said that he would write to the chief election commissioner for making all preparations to hold the next national election in February 2026 before the month of Ramadan which will begin in the 3rd week of February.
In his address to the nation marking the first anniversary of July Mass Uprising Day, he said that they would now begin the process of handing over power to an elected government.
鈥極n behalf of the interim government, I will send a letter to the chief election commissioner for making all arrangements to hold the national election in February, 2026 before the month of Ramadan,鈥� said Professor Yunus, who took over as the interim government chief adviser on August 8, 2024 following the August 5 fall of the authoritarian regime of Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India after her ouster amid a student-led mass uprising.
He assured all supports from the government in holding the elections in a peaceful and festive manner.
鈥榃e will begin all preparations 鈥� mental and institutional 鈥� from tomorrow so that the election this time remains memorable in history in the perspectives of festivity, peacefulness and voter turnout,鈥� said Yunus, also a Nobel laureate in peace, in his televised address in the evening.
Several political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have been pressing for an early election while some others, including the newly floated National Citizen Party, are campaigning for state reforms and completion of trials of the fascist regime and activists of Awami League, whose activities have recently been banned, for their alleged involvement in atrocities before the election.聽
Earlier, Professor Muhammad Yunus and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman on June 13 in a London meeting agreed that the next general elections could be held in mid-February 2026.
Mentioning that the county鈥檚 citizens could not exercise their voting rights in last three elections over 15 years, the chief adviser said that his government also wanted to ensure that women voters could cast their votes with enthusiasm without hesitation across the country.聽
He said that all the big clashes and violence happened so far in the country鈥檚 history were related to the flawed elections.
鈥楾he July uprising has demonstrated us the ultimate fate of any party that comes through a faulty election using muscle power,鈥� the chief adviser said.
The state must be repaired in such a way that whenever signs of fascism were found anywhere, they can be eliminated immediately, state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported quoting Muhammad Yunus as saying.
He said that the trial of July-August crimes against humanity case was moving forward strongly.
The formal hearing phase of the trial has also begun, Yunus said, adding that those involved in the brutal massacre in history will be tried on this country鈥檚 soil.
The chief adviser said that the trial process and its results will gradually be revealed to the people. The entire trial process is being kept transparent and visible to the countrymen, he added.
He said on July Uprising Day on Tuesday, his interim government along with 鈥榓ll political parties鈥� presented the July Declaration to the nation.
This declaration describes the background of the July uprising, starting from the various historical and democratic struggles of the people of Bangladesh in the past, including the great Liberation War, he said.
Prof Yunus said, 鈥榃e had three responsibilities: reform, trial, and elections. One of the focuses of the expectations, which the students, workers, and people of the July uprising wrote on the walls, was the democratic reform of the state system.鈥�
鈥楾o that end, we formed several reform commissions. We have already completed many reforms that can be implemented immediately in a short time, among the recommendations made by the major reform commissions,鈥� he said.
The chief adviser hoped that through these reforms, there will be dynamism in the economic sector, judiciary, and public administration; transparency and accountability will increase to a great extent while corruption, irregularities, and harassment will be reduced.
He said that the government formed the National Consensus Commission with the aim of implementing long-term reforms. More than 30 political parties and alliances have participated in the meetings with this commission voluntarily and given their opinions, he added.
He said that in the initial phase, the Consensus Commission held group and coalition discussions with more than 30 political parties on 166 recommendations for about two months.
In this process, excluding those on which consensus was established among the political parties, the commission identified 19 fundamental reform issues, he said.
鈥榃e have been able to reach our goal in terms of reforms. Under the guidance of the Consensus Commission, the 鈥楯uly Charter鈥� has reached the stage of being finalsed based on continuous discussions by all the political parties of the country for a long time,鈥� the BSS report quoted the chief adviser as saying in his address.
