New Delhi, Feb 11 (EFE).- The leader of the interim government of Bangladesh, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, said on Tuesday that he was considering holding general elections in December of this year, if a “political consensus” was reached on the reforms underway in the country.
“The Chief Adviser (Yunus’ position) reiterated his plan to hold the election in December if a political consensus could be reached over reform initiatives,” the spokesperson for the interim government, Azad Majumder, told EFE.
“However, if a broader reform is desired the election could be delayed upto June 2026,” he added.
Bangladesh, where the interim government led by Yunus has been in power since August 2024, faced a serious political crisis after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, currently in India, was ousted.
The holding of new elections has been one of the main demands of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
According to Bangladeshi media reports, representatives of the BNP and the interim government met in Dhaka on Monday.
At the meeting, the government conveyed to the BNP its intention to hold the general elections in Bangladesh in December.
The previous general elections in this country were held in January 2024 but were boycotted by the opposition, which accused Hasina’s government – whose party, Awami League, won for the fourth consecutive time – of repressing its political opponents and rigging the vote.
Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee the country on Aug. 5 after the intensification of student protests against a controversial quota system reserving jobs for the descendants of fighters in Bangladesh’s war of independence.
The demonstrations were initially peaceful but soon turned deadly following a brutal crackdown by Bangladeshi security forces that caused hundreds of deaths, according to Yunus’ interim government.
In recent days, Bangladeshi authorities have arrested dozens of people accused of being involved in a clash at the residence of a former collaborator of Hasina, in which 18 people were injured. EFE
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