Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) announced on Tuesday that preparations are underway to hold general elections by December, following mounting political pressure and recent nationwide unrest.
The move comes after interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus assured Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) that elections would be held by the year-end.
Election commissioner Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah confirmed, “We are preparing for the national elections in December.”
Speaking after a meeting with 17 Western diplomats, the UN, and the EU, Sanaullah said the priority is a national election instead of local government polls, as earlier proposed by a government-appointed commission.
UN Resident Representative Stefan Liller, who attended the meeting, said, “The United Nations expects the upcoming polls to be the best in Bangladesh’s history, and we are supporting the EC to conduct a free and fair election.” However, he declined to comment on election challenges.
On Monday, Yunus assured BNP that elections would be expedited due to the deteriorating law and order situation and the country’s economic crisis.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam stated, “He (Yunus) informed us that the government is working to hold the election by December.” He also blamed the interim government for failing to curb recent nationwide vandalism, which saw attacks on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Dhanmondi-32 residence and properties linked to Awami League leaders and ministers.
Yunus’ interim government, formed after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in August last year, includes three leaders from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which led the uprising. It has since launched multiple commissions to propose administrative and constitutional reforms.
One commission recommended scrapping Bangladesh’s 1972 Constitution, removing secularism and nationalism as state principles. The student movement vowed to “bury” the constitution, calling it a “Mujibist charter.”
The movement has also hinted at launching a political party, prompting BNP to demand early elections, fearing government bias. Bangladesh has witnessed escalating violence since February 5, when a mob demolished Mujib’s residence in a “bulldozer procession” with little government intervention. This triggered a wave of attacks on Awami League leaders and ministers, with many now in hiding or jailed for alleged killings during the July-August uprising. Yunus had earlier suggested elections after minimal reforms by December or major reforms by June 2026, but pressure from BNP and other parties has pushed for an earlier vote.
With political tensions high, the focus now shifts to whether the interim government can ensure a free and fair election amid ongoing instability.