&w=3840&q=100)
Bangladesh: BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman says election must be held in December
'Excuses are already being made regarding the national elections,' Rahman said. 'Even after 10 months, the interim government has not announced an election date.' read more
Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), said Wednesday (May 28) that the upcoming national election must be held by December, calling on the interim government to announce a date without delay.
Rahman made the remarks during a rally titled 'Establishing the Political Rights of the Youth,' held in front of the BNP's central office in the Nayapaltan area of the capital. The event was jointly organized by the party's affiliated student, youth, and volunteer wings– Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal, and Swechchhasebak Dal, The Daily Star reported.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
'Excuses are already being made regarding the national elections,' Rahman said. 'Even after 10 months, the interim government has not announced an election date.'
Addressing the interim administration, he said: 'Begin preparations to ensure that the national elections are held by December.'
More from World
Yunus staged a resignation when we want elections by December: Bangladesh's BNP leader
Rahman also called for a transition to democratic governance, stating: 'We want to see a Bangladesh free from fascism, where the government is directly accountable to the people through their votes.'
'The interim government must ensure that the national election is held by December,' he said. 'Once again, we stress that the national elections must take place by December.'
He urged BNP leaders to mobilise support and engage with the public ahead of the polls.
'Start preparing now so that the national elections are held by December. Who will govern the country? Who will represent you? Through your votes in the national election, you will choose your representatives,' Rahman said.
'The source of BNP's power is the people,' he added.
Pressure from BNP mounts
The interim government is facing increased pressure from the BNP to hold elections. Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has also come under fire.
At a rally in Dhaka on Wednesday, BNP's Standing Committee member Salauddin Ahmed said the party wanted an election roadmap from Yunus but the interim ruler instead decide to stage a resignation attempt.
'Yet he staged a resignation. We wanted elections by December. We are calling on everyone to unite in demanding a neutral government, democracy, and elections. Let all of us aim for Bangladesh first and foremost under the leadership of Tarique Rahman,' said Ahmed.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The development has come days after Yunus, the unelected ruler of Bangladesh propped by agitating groups and the military last year, threatened to resign over demands of early elections. He has maintained that institutional reforms, not elections, are his priority.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Can Bangladesh trust Yunus's April 2026 poll promise?
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 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 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 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 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 expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch
India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
Trapped in tight spot, Yunus govt bans rallies in Dhaka's power centre
While Bangladesh's interim government under Muhammad Yunus is facing intense protests from opposition parties, civil servants, teachers, and amid signs of discontent with the army, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has imposed a sweeping ban on all public gatherings, processions, and rallies in the capital's seat of power. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Monday sealed off the Jamuna Guest House, the official residence of Muhammad Yunus, along with the Bangladesh Secretariat and surrounding areas for an indefinite period, reported The Daily security clampdown comes amid weeks of sustained protests by civil servants and officials at the Dhaka Secretariat against a Yunus government ordinance that permits their dismissal for misconduct within 14 days, without due process. Civil servants labelled it an "unlawful black law" and demanded its immediate ban on protests and rallies in the Central Dhaka locality, according to DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali, is "in the interest of public order and the security of the chief advisor [Muhammad Yunus]", reported latest protest ban in central Dhaka follows a similar directive issued on May 10, when the interim government deployed paramilitary forces, including the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the police's SWAT units, to secure key government now, Eid might have brought a temporary pause to the intensity of protests, but civil servants have warned of a tougher movement if their demands are not met by June 15, reported the Dhaka-based interim government, led by Yunus, in power since August 8, 2024, is grappling with mounting challenges and protests. Yunus has promised sweeping judicial and institutional reforms, and free elections by the first week of April announcement on the polls, however, has fuelled speculation that he may be trying to stay in power without elections. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has been staging large-scale protests, demanding a clear election timeline, while the army, led by Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, has also pushed for polls by December to the pushback from the army and the BNP, the protesting civil servants on May 27 threatened to expand their agitation to government offices nationwide if their demands are not met, reported Prothom Islam, the co-chairman of the Bangladesh Secretariat Officers-Employees Unity Forum, said that the protests would become more intense in the later, thousands of primary school teachers across Bangladesh rose up in an indefinite strike, demanding higher wages, among several other now, Bangladesh may be witnessing a temporary lull during the week-long Eid break, but protests are expected to intensify once the holidays discontent simmering and protests getting intense in Bangladesh, Yunus' interim government is finding itself in an increasingly tricky position. With each crackdown, Yunus might be risking public mistrust and widening the fissures within Bangladesh's already fragile political state of InMust Watch advertisement
Indian Express
12 hours ago
- Indian Express
Elections in Bangladesh announced, but justice and reforms remain centre stage
The biggest takeaway from the televised pre-Eid speech of Muhammad Yunus must have been a concrete timeframe for when Bangladesh will hold elections. Bangladesh's 10-month-old transitional government — constituted after the July Monsoon Revolution last year — has decided to hold general elections in the first half of April 2026, thereby paving the way for a democratic transition. As we understand, the country's reconstituted Election Commission will announce a specific polling date and roadmap in the run-up to the polls. The announcement has definitely rekindled hope that over 120 million voters will finally be able to exercise their right to vote after years, following sham elections under the now-deposed Sheikh Hasina. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which had ruled the country four times earlier and sees the current tide in its favour to make it five, is not happy with the election timeline offered by the transitional government. It still insists on holding the election by the end of this year (December 2025). Other key political stakeholders are somewhat content with the April 2026 timeline. But the biggest question on the minds of the average Bangladeshi now is: Was the July Revolution only about holding an election? Or was it something more than that? Wasn't it an aspiration to live in a Bangladesh where rules are justice-based and critical democratic reform agendas are rightly pushed through? In fact, Yunus rightly tried to address those concerns, reflecting on issues that go beyond the immediate agenda of holding an election. If not more, he is equally interested in seizing this post-July Revolution window of opportunity to push through critical reforms that would have lasting impacts on the country's future democratic adherence. Through his latest speech addressing the nation, his transitional government made it unequivocally clear that it would ensure justice for enforced disappearances and the suppression of dissent during Hasina's rule. It is to the credit of the Yunus-led government that it has largely managed to enjoy public trust in its resolve to focus on three things before transferring power to an elected government. These, essentially, are justice, reforms, and elections. The Yunus-led transitional government has the mandate of thousands of young revolutionaries who either sacrificed their lives or endured the brutal force unleashed by the regime during July–August last year. The injured and the comrades of those who lost their lives would not allow the transitional government to get away with merely holding an election, without advancing the causes of justice. In his address, Yunus mentioned that, so far, over 800 people have taken part in public hearings held on hundreds of incidents of enforced disappearances. Injustices, including the fabrication of cases and corruption, are all being addressed as the current government proceeds with a judicial process to try Sheikh Hasina and many of her associates for these offences. His government wants to introduce a July Declaration, imbued with the spirit and aspirations of last year's Monsoon Revolution, in which all parties would make a formal commitment that, whoever comes to power next, will endorse the minimum agreed-upon reform agendas in the first session of the new elected parliament. Yunus has also expressed his firm resolve not to leave everything to the next government, adding that the interim government has already implemented 129 reform proposals across 54 ministries. What Yunus and his team essentially want is to ensure that this reform momentum does not lose steam with the departure of the transitional government after the April 2026 election. After all, the people of Bangladesh, irrespective of party affiliations, by and large prioritise the idea of justice, reform, and elections above all else. The writer is the acting editor of the Dhaka Tribune
