THIS is welcome that the chief adviser to the interim government has announced the date of the 13th national elections. The chief adviser, in his address to the nation marking the first anniversary of July Mass Uprising Day on August 5, unambiguously said that he would write to the chief election commissioner to make all preparations for holding the next national elections in February 2026, before Ramadan, which will begin in the third week of February. This means that the elections will be held by mid-February. The announcement is significant as divisions and bitterness among political parties regarding the date of the election have recently intensified, posing a threat to the unity that the parties had during the July uprising, which toppled the authoritarian Awami League regime. The interim government, since assuming office on August 8, 2024, has consistently said that its job is to ensure the trial of the people who killed hundreds and wounded thousands of students and civilians during the uprising, to implement democratic reforms that will ensure that the country never again lapses into an authoritarian rule and to hold a free and fair election.
The chief adviser has said that the interim government has made significant progress in its first two tasks 鈥� trial and reforms. Some political parties and sections of the public, however, believe that the government has not made sufficient progress in ensuring justice and effecting reforms. The government formed 11 reforms commissions that submitted proposals to democratise state institutions and bring transparency and accountability. While the government has put the reports of a number of commissions on the back burner, it has also played down what it describes as fundamental reforms issues, citing an established consensus among political parties on many matters. What, then, is worrying is why the government is not implementing those reforms on which there is an 鈥榚stablished consensus鈥� and why it is not acting on recommendations in areas such as labour rights, women鈥檚 affairs and health care, which require only political will. Progress in ensuring justice also appears slow, with charge sheets submitted in only 15 out of 1,730 cases related to July atrocities. Holding free and fair national elections is no less challenging for the government as it requires coordination among the Election Commission, the civil administration, law enforcement and the military that currently appears somewhat strained.
The government has, therefore, a number of issues to address. While there is no room for complacency about the progress it has made in ensuring justice for July鈥檚 victims and in implementing democratic reforms, the government should now make all necessary preparations and ensure coordination among all sectors to deliver fair and credible elections.
