Bangladesh Sets Election For April 2026

Mr Yunus urged the maximum number of people to vote so that the elections “are remembered by the nation as the most free, fair and impartial” and the country does not plunge into a crisis like it did last year. With one of the major parties, the Awami League of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, out of contention due to a ban, it is not clear how this will happen.

India has called for inclusive, free and fair elections even as Yunus’ aides defended the Awami ban and termed the polls as an internal matter of Bangladesh.

Addressing his country on the occasion of Id-ul-Zuha, Yunus said by next Id-ul-Fitr (in March 2026), the interim government will be able to reach an acceptable point on reform and justice and people will be able to see progress on the trial of “crimes against humanity”. He added that the country is in a “state of war” and that people must remain united at all costs as the “defeated powers and their allies” are waiting to attack and stop progress. He said that this was not just about a peaceful election but a process to build a “New Bangladesh”.

Yunus underlined that after one and a half decades, “a truly representative” Parliament will be formed in the country. He also suggested that voters must seek commitment from political parties that they will “never compromise on the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity of Bangladesh and will not sell the country’s interests to any foreign power”.

Facing intense domestic pressure from Bangladesh Army chief and political parties like the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), this is the first time that Yunus has given a proper timeline for elections, though he had been saying the polls will be held between December 2025 and June 2026. Both Bangladesh Army chief Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman and the BNP have been pressuring Yunus to hold elections by December 2025. The parties have said that till such time that a new government is formed, Yunus should refrain from taking major policy decisions.

Feeling cornered, Yunus had last month threatened to resign from the top post but later decided to continue on the insistence of his advisory committee and political parties. He also held a series of meetings with the members of various political parties and non-political groups to ascertain their views and convince them to hold on for some more time.

Sensing victory in the absence of a strong Opposition as the Awami League has been banned, the BNP has been insisting on polls by December 2025, while the National Citizen Party (NCP) wants the elections after the promised reforms are done. However, the Jamaat-e-Islami, which too wanted reforms first, later changed its stand and insisted that the polls take place between December and April 2026.

Mr Yunus also urged people to force the contesting parties to make a commitment that “they will never, under any circumstances, engage in anti-people activities, violate the people's democratic rights and human dignity, and will keep themselves completely free from all forms of corruption, partisanship, tender rigging, syndicate rigging, extortion, terrorist activities”.

Without naming the Awami League or former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was overthrown by a civil unrest, Yunus underlined that every time Bangladesh has plunged into a political crisis it is due to flawed elections. He further said that due to the flawed electoral processes, “a political party turned into a barbaric fascist”.

“Those who organise such elections are identified as criminals by the nation. The party that comes to power through such elections is also hated by the people,” he was quoted saying by BBC Bangla.

Meanwhile, the chief adviser has rubbished the reports about a proposed “humanitarian corridor” for Rohingyas linking Myanmar’s Rakhine state with Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, even though some members of his advisory committee had said that he had given his approval to such a plan. This had been strongly opposed by the Bangladesh Army chief and other top military officers.