Bangladesh's growing predicament
Steps taken by the interim government of Dr Mohammad Yunus like banning Awami League, removing the picture of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rehman from currency notes and erasing from textbooks the role of Awami League in freedom struggle reflect a paradigm shift in Dhaka's narrative about a political party which spearheaded the country's freedom movement.
Around a year has passed since Dr Yunus took the reins of government following the exit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power and her taking refuge in India. Finally succumbing to pressure, Dr Yunus announced the holding of general elections in April 2026. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which suffered Sheikh Hasina's wrath for more than 15 years initially supported the Yunus regime but then took an aggressive stance against it, urging Yunus to announce elections at the earliest.
Why has BNP, a beneficiary of Sheikh Hasina's exit from power, turned against Dr Yunus? What is the future of the banned Awami League? How are the fault lines in Bangladesh related to its economy, politics, governance, military and India are deepening its predicament? Dr Yunus has recently made it clear that elections will be held in April 2026 but his opponents are not ready to trust him and allege that he is trying to prolong his rule by amplifying controversial issues like banning Awami League, giving space to Islamist political parties and groups and relying too much on China for supporting the country's economy.
In order to gain some credibility for his regime, Dr Yunus in late 2024 established reform commissions aimed at bettering institutions so that meaningful general elections could be held. On February 8, 2025 Dhaka Tribune reported the formation of six reform commissions - on Constitution, Election Commission, Police Reform, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Public Administration and Judiciary. The reports on the commissions were also published on the Cabinet Division's website. The reform commission about political parties held several meeting but remained inconclusive. It was a gigantic task for the Yunus regime to reform centres of power as he lamented that Bangladesh is in a quandary because of rampant corruption, nepotism as well as politicisation of bureaucracy, judiciary, education and economy. Unfortunately, the reform commissions failed to move ahead. BNP alleged that the Yunus regime was trying to gain time under the cover of reform commissions.
One needs to analyse Bangladesh's growing predicament amidst the announcement of elections in April 2026 from three angles.
First, the credibility of the Yunus regime is questionable because it does not have any legal or constitutional status nor does it enjoy the public mandate. The only legitimacy is has is that when Sheikh Hasina fled to India and her government collapsed, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh allowed the President to take oath from Dr Mohammad Yunus as the caretaker Chief Adviser. In order to win some legitimacy, Yunus should have gone for a public referendum, but he continued as the head of the government and pledged to hold elections after reforming institutions latest by June 2026. Later on, he advanced the election date to April 2026. Critics argue that instead of focusing on the economy, governance and reforms, Yunus has conducted 11 foreign tours during the 10 months of his rule so far.
The Yunus regime supporters, like the newly formed National Citizens Party (NCP) of student leader Nahid Islam and Jamaat-i-Islami, feel concerned about the growing popular chagrin against the caretaker government. Initially, the Yunus regime tried to take advantage of the Awami League government's repression against the protesting students that resulted in the killing of more than 1,400 people.
Second, Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman who was supportive to the Yunus regime and provided him space to run the government is now giving a different message. In his neutral and professional position, the Army Chief cannot remain oblivious to ground realities. He has also called for early elections. According to AFP, addressing officers of Bangladesh military on May 21, the Army Chief said, "Bangladesh is passing through a chaotic phase. The situation is worsening. The structure of the civil administration and law enforcement agencies has collapsed and failed to reconstitute." He called for holding general elections by December 2025 in order to pull the country from the prevailing crisis. This clearly means loss of military support to the Yunus regime and its further fragility.
Third, India is closely watching the current political situation in Bangladesh. New Delhi is exerting pressure on the Yunus regime to abandon what it perceives as anti-Indian stance. A section of the Indian media and the Modi government leave no issue to criticise the Yunus regime - whether it is the banning of Awami League, reported construction of an airbase with the Chinese assistance in north Bengal's city Lal Monirhat, Dhaka's growing rapport with Pakistan or the rise of Islamist forces in Bangladesh. Dhaka criticises New Delhi on why it has allowed Sheikh Hasina to launch hostile tirade against the Yunus regime and why despite official request it has not handed her over to Bangladesh. Bangladesh also accuses India of using the 'Hindu' minority card to blame the Yunus regime. Decades of deep-rooted influence of India's RAW in Bangladesh - permeating in academia, civil society, bureaucracy, judiciary and other segments of society - is making it difficult for the Yunus regime to take an independent position. Surrounded by three sides from India and economically dependent, Bangladesh is trying to get space by reaching out to China and other countries. In order to penalise Bangladesh over its refusal to follow a pro-India stance, Delhi has imposed trade restrictions so that Dhaka capitulates.
In order to deal with its growing predicament, the Yunus regime has announced general elections to be held in April 2026, but one is not sure to what extent Bangladesh will be able to ensure transparent elections within the next 10 months. The coming months will be decisive regarding the approach of the caretaker government and political parties to deal with coming elections.
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Express Tribune
6 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Bangladesh's growing predicament
Steps taken by the interim government of Dr Mohammad Yunus like banning Awami League, removing the picture of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rehman from currency notes and erasing from textbooks the role of Awami League in freedom struggle reflect a paradigm shift in Dhaka's narrative about a political party which spearheaded the country's freedom movement. Around a year has passed since Dr Yunus took the reins of government following the exit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power and her taking refuge in India. Finally succumbing to pressure, Dr Yunus announced the holding of general elections in April 2026. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which suffered Sheikh Hasina's wrath for more than 15 years initially supported the Yunus regime but then took an aggressive stance against it, urging Yunus to announce elections at the earliest. Why has BNP, a beneficiary of Sheikh Hasina's exit from power, turned against Dr Yunus? What is the future of the banned Awami League? How are the fault lines in Bangladesh related to its economy, politics, governance, military and India are deepening its predicament? Dr Yunus has recently made it clear that elections will be held in April 2026 but his opponents are not ready to trust him and allege that he is trying to prolong his rule by amplifying controversial issues like banning Awami League, giving space to Islamist political parties and groups and relying too much on China for supporting the country's economy. In order to gain some credibility for his regime, Dr Yunus in late 2024 established reform commissions aimed at bettering institutions so that meaningful general elections could be held. On February 8, 2025 Dhaka Tribune reported the formation of six reform commissions - on Constitution, Election Commission, Police Reform, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Public Administration and Judiciary. The reports on the commissions were also published on the Cabinet Division's website. The reform commission about political parties held several meeting but remained inconclusive. It was a gigantic task for the Yunus regime to reform centres of power as he lamented that Bangladesh is in a quandary because of rampant corruption, nepotism as well as politicisation of bureaucracy, judiciary, education and economy. Unfortunately, the reform commissions failed to move ahead. BNP alleged that the Yunus regime was trying to gain time under the cover of reform commissions. One needs to analyse Bangladesh's growing predicament amidst the announcement of elections in April 2026 from three angles. First, the credibility of the Yunus regime is questionable because it does not have any legal or constitutional status nor does it enjoy the public mandate. The only legitimacy is has is that when Sheikh Hasina fled to India and her government collapsed, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh allowed the President to take oath from Dr Mohammad Yunus as the caretaker Chief Adviser. In order to win some legitimacy, Yunus should have gone for a public referendum, but he continued as the head of the government and pledged to hold elections after reforming institutions latest by June 2026. Later on, he advanced the election date to April 2026. Critics argue that instead of focusing on the economy, governance and reforms, Yunus has conducted 11 foreign tours during the 10 months of his rule so far. The Yunus regime supporters, like the newly formed National Citizens Party (NCP) of student leader Nahid Islam and Jamaat-i-Islami, feel concerned about the growing popular chagrin against the caretaker government. Initially, the Yunus regime tried to take advantage of the Awami League government's repression against the protesting students that resulted in the killing of more than 1,400 people. Second, Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman who was supportive to the Yunus regime and provided him space to run the government is now giving a different message. In his neutral and professional position, the Army Chief cannot remain oblivious to ground realities. He has also called for early elections. According to AFP, addressing officers of Bangladesh military on May 21, the Army Chief said, "Bangladesh is passing through a chaotic phase. The situation is worsening. The structure of the civil administration and law enforcement agencies has collapsed and failed to reconstitute." He called for holding general elections by December 2025 in order to pull the country from the prevailing crisis. This clearly means loss of military support to the Yunus regime and its further fragility. Third, India is closely watching the current political situation in Bangladesh. New Delhi is exerting pressure on the Yunus regime to abandon what it perceives as anti-Indian stance. A section of the Indian media and the Modi government leave no issue to criticise the Yunus regime - whether it is the banning of Awami League, reported construction of an airbase with the Chinese assistance in north Bengal's city Lal Monirhat, Dhaka's growing rapport with Pakistan or the rise of Islamist forces in Bangladesh. Dhaka criticises New Delhi on why it has allowed Sheikh Hasina to launch hostile tirade against the Yunus regime and why despite official request it has not handed her over to Bangladesh. Bangladesh also accuses India of using the 'Hindu' minority card to blame the Yunus regime. Decades of deep-rooted influence of India's RAW in Bangladesh - permeating in academia, civil society, bureaucracy, judiciary and other segments of society - is making it difficult for the Yunus regime to take an independent position. Surrounded by three sides from India and economically dependent, Bangladesh is trying to get space by reaching out to China and other countries. In order to penalise Bangladesh over its refusal to follow a pro-India stance, Delhi has imposed trade restrictions so that Dhaka capitulates. In order to deal with its growing predicament, the Yunus regime has announced general elections to be held in April 2026, but one is not sure to what extent Bangladesh will be able to ensure transparent elections within the next 10 months. The coming months will be decisive regarding the approach of the caretaker government and political parties to deal with coming elections.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
Bangladesh to hold elections in April 2026
Bangladesh's national elections will be held in the first half of April 2026, the country's de facto prime minister, Muhammad Yunus, said on Friday. "The Election Commission will provide you with a detailed roadmap for the elections at an appropriate time," said Nobel peace laureate Yunus. He made the announcement during a televised address to the nation on the eve of Eidul Azha. 'Based on this announcement, the Election Commission will provide a detailed roadmap for the elections at an appropriate time,' he said. 'I have repeatedly said that this election will be held between December and June next year. The government is doing whatever is necessary to create an environment conducive to elections in the country during this period,' he said. Yunus said, "I know that there is great interest among political parties and the public to know when the next national election will be held. It is important to remember here that as long as the country has plunged into deep crises since independence was due to flawed elections. Through repeated accumulation of power through a flawed election, a political party turned into a barbaric fascist." The chief adviser said those who organised those elections were identified as criminals by the nation. The party that came to power through such elections was also hated by the people, he added. A major responsibility of this government is to hold an election in a clean, festive, peaceful, and massively participated atmosphere so that the country does not fall into a new crisis in the future, said the chief adviser. For this, institutional reform is the most important, he said, adding, If good governance cannot be ensured in the institutions involved with the election process, all the sacrifices of the students and the public will go in vain. "We took responsibility on the basis of these three mandates: reform, justice and elections. In that regard, I believe that we will be able to reach an acceptable position in terms of reform and justice by the next Eidul Fitr." He said, particularly with regard to the trial of crimes against humanity, which is our collective responsibility towards the martyrs of the July mass uprising, we will be able to see visible progress,' he said. 'We will be able to implement the mandate you have entrusted with us, even if it is minimal. In this regard, we have discussed with all parties to organise the freest, fairest, competitive and acceptable elections in history,' he said. 'We want elections that will satisfy the souls of the martyrs of the uprising and bring peace to their souls. We want the largest number of voters, candidates and parties to participate in the next elections.
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Express Tribune
Bangladesh announces elections in April 2026, says Yunus
'The government has been doing everything necessary to create an environment conducive to holding the election,' says Yunus Listen to article Bangladesh will hold elections in early April 2026 for the first time since a mass uprising overthrew the government last year, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said Friday. The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led revolt in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years. '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,' said Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who leads the caretaker government. Political parties jostling for power have been repeatedly demanding Yunus fix an election timetable, while he has said time is needed as the country requires an overhaul of its democratic institutions after Hasina's tenure. 'The government has been doing everything necessary to create an environment conducive to holding the election,' he added in the television broadcast, while repeating his warning that reforms were needed. 'It should be remembered that Bangladesh has plunged into deep crisis every time it has held a flawed election,' he said, in a speech given on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday in the Muslim-majority nation. 'A political party usurped power through such elections in the past, and became a barbaric fascist force.' Hasina's rule saw widespread human rights abuses, and her government was accused of politicising courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections. The interim government had already repeatedly vowed to hold elections before June 2026, but said the more time it had to enact reforms, the better. Reform of 'utmost importance' The key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as the election frontrunner, has in recent weeks been pushing hard for polls to be held by December. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, in a speech to officers in May, also said that elections should be held by December, according to both Bangladeshi media and military sources. Days after that speech, the government warned that political power struggles risked jeopardising gains that have been made. 'Those who organise such elections are later viewed as culprits, and those who assume office through them become targets of public hatred,' Yunus said on Friday. 'One of the biggest responsibilities of this government is to ensure a transparent… and widely participatory election so that the country does not fall into a new phase of crisis,' he added. 'That is why institutional reform is of utmost importance.'
