THE interim government and several political parties, especially the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, appear to have embarked on a confrontational path about the timing of the next general elections. While the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and some other parties have increasingly called for the elections to be held by December 2025, the government remains firm on its earlier decision to hold the polls by June 2026. The standoff, which has already turned intense, risks escalating further if the BNP and its allied parties follow through with the demonstrations they are staging. The BNP and its political allies also seem to have lost confidence in the government鈥檚 reform agenda, which has largely stalled because of a lack of consensus among political parties, with only one or two proposals seeing partial agreement. Besides, the government, for its part, has been struggling not only to push forward its broader reforms programme but also to implement relatively minor, well-meaning changes in government departments and civil service regulations that require no political consensus. For instance, the government has faced difficulties effecting changes in civil service regulations and the revenue administration that were expected to be straightforward and beneficial.
In such a context, it is both logical and expected that political parties would demand early national elections. Furthermore, the stand taken by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and other parties that both reforms and elections are essential for a peaceful democratic transition and presenting the issue as a binary choice between the two is misleading is not without merit. Their call for early elections has also been echoed by other stakeholders, too. Meanwhile, the Centre for Policy Dialogue, in its third interim review of Bangladesh鈥檚 macroeconomic performance for the 2024鈥�25 financial year, emphasised the importance of political stability for macroeconomic resilience and investor confidence. The organisation has recommended that the interim government should announce a specific date for the next general elections in consultation with political parties. Political analysts, too, have noted the interim government鈥檚 limited success in achieving political stability, sounding a warning that various sectors are increasingly at risk of further volatility. Dhaka has already become a happening place, not in a constructive way, with roads frequently being blocked by various groups, political and professional. The government, moreover, seems either unwilling or unable to address the growing influence of right-wing forces, which pose a tangible threat to liberal segments of society, in general, and to the democratic rights and aspirations of women, in particular.
In the light of these developments, it is imperative that the interim government and political parties should avoid further confrontation and work towards a consensus for the ways of democratic transition.
