Can Bangladesh trust Yunus's April 2026 poll promise?

India Today

09-06-2025

As Bangladesh's interim government head Muhammad Yunus walked out after offering Eid prayers at the National Mosque in Dhaka, some in the crowd shouted that he should stay in power for five years and pay no heed to the 'dalals' who want early elections. Within hours, the video of the incident was all over social media, especially after Yunus's press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, shared it on Facebook. Alam wouldn't have done this without Yunus's approval. advertisementThe Yunus coterie's enthusiasm in publicising this minuscule event, passing off a dozen slogan-shouting admirers as 'the wish of the people', raises questions about making a mountain out of an astroturfed molehill. It also reinforces doubts about Yunus's real intent. The day before Eid, he said in a national address that elections would be held in early April 2026.Stance of key political partiesAll parties, except the Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies, as well as the National Citizens Party, want elections to be held by December this year. The former says it is okay with polls in April next year, while the latter still casts aspersions on the possibility of fair polls under the present Election Commission. The most vocal proponent of conducting elections this year is the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is now poised to win. advertisement
BNP leaders like party spokesperson Salahuddin Ahmed have said Yunus's plans for April don't 'fulfil the aspirations of the nation'. Smaller parties close to the BNP have joined Salahuddin in raising concerns about an April election, saying that's when the country holds school-leaving exams involving lakhs of students. It also immediately follows the holy month of Ramzan and Eid, when campaigning would be undesirable. The Awami League, which may not be able to contest the next elections, unless the Election Commission changes its decision, has alleged that plans to conduct polls in April are a ruse. "Yunus has made an April fool of the nation,' said Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader. "When the nation approaches the election date, Yunus may use the possible difficulties now raised by the political parties to further postpone the polls.'Illegality of interim government Sources close to General Waker say the army chief remains acutely conscious of two factors: one, there is no constitutional basis for the interim government, and two, that he, more than anyone else, will be held accountable for the failures of the interim government and the unseemly controversies generated by it. The very political parties General Waker consulted with to create the interim government are now pushing him to get Yunus to organise the polls soon and step down. There is no provision in the Bangladesh Constitution for an interim government, the creation of which in August last year was justified by the Doctrine of Necessity. General Waker is acutely aware that this 'necessity' cannot be stretched too far.advertisementThe demand for early elections has also gained support because of the interim government's abject failure in maintaining law and order. An Indian human rights group, the Rights and Risks Analysis Group, has detailed the murders of at least 121 Awami League activists since August last year. Bangladeshi news reports suggest that nearly 3.5 lakhs have been arrested, most of them Awami League supporters, many on trumped-up charges. Yunus's confidante, Nahid Islam, wants polls delayed because of the uncertain law and order situation. The Nobel laureate has said Bangladesh faces a war-like situation and whipped up the bogey of Indian hegemonism, all to justify delayed polls.'Stay for five years'The Army and political parties are apprehensive because the Yunus coterie has made no secret of its desire to stay on for five years by insisting that reforms and justice are as important as holding elections.advertisementGeneral Waker likely insisted on polls by December because he began doubting Yunus's real intention after his Home Adviser, Lt Gen Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retired), said during a visit to Sylhet that people wanted them to stay in power for five years. Before that, Sarjis Alam, one of the founders of the newly formed National Citizens Party and a former member of Yunus's advisory council, said that a "statesman like Yunus should run the country for five years'.Sarjis Alam belongs to the core leadership of the July-August 2024 agitation, which Yunus himself described as 'meticulously planned' during his visit to the Clinton Foundation last year. Yunus, in fact, introduced one of the student leaders, Mahfuz Alam, who remains on his advisory council, as the 'mastermind' of the agitation. Immediately after General Waker's renewed pitch for elections by December this year, one of his advisers, Syeda Rezwana, challenged the army chief and said, "People have put us here not just to hold elections but to bring about reforms and ensure justice to the victims of fascism.'July declaration The student-youth brigade and Islamist groups like the Jamaat-e-Islami, who spearheaded the agitations last year, have said they are putting together the July Declaration to embody the spirit of the revolution in governing the country. This declaration, possibly designed as a revolutionary proclamation, will perhaps seek to supplant the existing constitution. advertisementBNP leaders say that Yunus's promise for polls in April 2026 is perhaps a bait to get them to sign the July Declaration and then pave the way for a national government based on negotiated power-sharing rather than an elected government. Such a government can not only bring down President Mohammed Shahabuddin Chuppu but also get his chosen successor to sack the army chief and other service chiefs supporting him.For those who follow Bangladesh closely, the impending July Declaration, not the elections, is the next battleground that will decide whether the country remains a parliamentary democracy or continues to be run by an unelected cabal headed by a business leader who has no qualms in extending major favours to his companies, even getting the latest national budget to waive taxes on Nobel and Magsaysay awards he won.(Subir Bhaumik is a former BBC and Reuters correspondent and author who has worked in Bangladesh as a senior editor with bdnews24.com)(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch