Elections in Bangladesh will take place in April 2026, says interim leader Mohammad Yunus

New Delhi (India) June 7: Bangladesh's interim government chief adviser, Muhammad Yunus has told the country Friday that elections would take place in April 2026. The declaration goes against several parties, including the election frontrunner Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who demanded the polls in December. The announcement by Yunus reduces the condition of uncertainty in Bangladesh.

He said, “I am announcing to the citizens of the country that the election will be held on any day in the first half of April 2026. After reviewing the ongoing reforms related to justice, governance, and the electoral process, I am announcing to the nation today that the next national election will be held on any day in the first half of April 2026.”

The 84-year-old interim leader acknowledged the high level of excitement surrounding the election date and emphasised that faulty elections have frequently been the cause of Bangladesh's political crises since independence.

He said, “Through repeated manipulation of elections, a political party turned into a fascist regime. Those who orchestrated those sham elections were branded as criminals by the people. The regimes that emerged from them were ultimately rejected by the public.”

Yunus asked voters to look for strong promises from all political parties and candidates, which included that the parties will defend Bangladesh's independence, sovereignty, and dignity, adhere to the reform program decided upon by the next parliament, and never jeopardise the democratic rights of the people.

The student-led National Citizens Party (NCP) said that it was okay with elections in April as long as meaningful measures were done to put the July Charter, July Declaration, and reforms into action by that time. This was against the Communist Party of Bangladesh who wanted to hold the elections in December. 

According to top intelligence sources, Yunus is under a lot of internal pressure which can be seen by his dates.

General Waker-Uz-Zaman, the head of the army, has also publicly called for elections in December 2025. He said that a lengthy army deployment for civic responsibilities since the 2024 protests poses a national security concern.

Yunus did not specify any dates when he announced that the election would take place in April. His lack of preparation was evident as he gave no timeline or information about how the administration intends to use the months leading up to the April election. Earlier, Muhammad Yunus and his council advisers had stated that elections will take place between December 2025 and June 2026.

Aadrika Tayal