Bangladesh Nationalist Party asks Yunus to carry polls by December

Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday (May 24, 2025) requested interim authorities chief Muhammad Yunus to carry nationwide elections by December 2025 and reconstitute his cupboard by eradicating “controversial advisers”.

“We have referred to as for finishing the reforms rapidly and holding the nationwide election by December,” BNP’s highest coverage making standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain mentioned after assembly Chief Adviser Yunus at his official Jamuna residence within the night.

Mr Hossain, who led the BNP delegation, mentioned he additionally requested Mr Yunus to announce a roadmap for holding the election and in addition demanded the formation of an advisory council — successfully the cupboard — excluding “controversial advisers”.

Two of the three advisers — Mahfuj Alam and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan — had been inducted within the interim advisory council as representatives of the Students towards Discrimination (SAD), which led the final yr’s motion to oust Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime.

Also Read | Army Chief General Zaman vs Chief Adviser Prof Yunus: Power struggle in Bangladesh over timing of election

They are entrusted with portfolios of youth and sports activities, and data ministries, respectively whereas the third adviser is former diplomat Khalilur Rahman, who can be Mr Yunus’s nationwide safety adviser.

BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, who additionally attended the assembly as a part of the delegation, mentioned the get together sought their elimination earlier than as properly in a written assertion.

Asked if the BNP was glad with the assembly, Mr Ahmed mentioned the delegation offered its views and would await Mr Yunus’ suggestions and “only then can we say whether we are satisfied or not”.

Mr Hossain said the government was pursuing three agendas — reform, trial of leaders of deposed premier Hasina’s regime and the election.

Also Read | Awami League supporters stare at an uncertain future under the interim government

The BNP is seeking the removal of Mr Alam and Mr Bhuiyan as it is at loggerheads with the newly floated student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) comprising SAD leaders backed by Mr Yunus.

Mr Yunus also met with Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP leaders.

“We have proposed two possible time frames (for polls) – either mid-February 2026, if all the reforms are done, or immediately after Ramadan, if reforms take a bit longer,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said.

He also said that the Jamaat delegation asked the interim administration that it should announce two clear and specific roadmaps – one for reform and the other for election.

The NCP, on the other hand, pressed for local government polls ahead of the national election, reiterating their earlier expressed desire that was vehemently opposed by the BNP, which emerged as the most prominent political party with the ouster of the previous regime and subsequent disbanding of the Awami League.

Mr Yunus’ office later said his leadership drew confidence of all three major political parties and they conveyed their support for a free, fair, and peaceful election under his administration.

Mr Yunus’ press secretary Shafiqul Alam said the chief adviser told all the parties that the national election will be held sometime between December and June of next year while both Jamaat and NCP supported the timeframe.

The meetings came hours after the advisory council or cabinet issued a statement confirming that Mr Yunus would remain as the interim government chief.

“He (Yunus) is definitely staying,” planning adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud instructed reporters after an unscheduled closed-door assembly of the council with Yunus within the chair amid a nationwide unease.

The chief adviser’s press wing later issued a “statement from the advisory council”, saying the two-hour lengthy assembly included detailed discussions on “three primary responsibilities entrusted to the interim government – elections, reforms, and justice”.

“The Council discussed how unreasonable demands, deliberately provocative and ‘jurisdictionally overreaching statements’, and disruptive programmes have been continuously obstructing the normal functioning environment and creating confusion and suspicion among the public,” it learn.

The assertion mentioned regardless of all obstacles, the interim authorities continued to fulfil its duties by placing nationwide pursuits above group pursuits.

“However, if — under the instigation of defeated forces or as part of a foreign conspiracy — the performance of these responsibilities becomes impossible, the government will present all reasons to the public and then take the necessary steps with the people,” the council mentioned.

Mr Yunus’ choice to stay in office got here two days after he instructed NCP leaders that he was mulling resignation as he felt “the situation is such that he cannot work”, citing difficulties in working amid the failure of political parties to find common ground for change.

NCP convenor Nahid Islam earlier said that he urged Mr Yunus “to stay strong for the sake of the country’s security, and future and to meet the expectations of the mass uprising, (and) I hope everyone will cooperate with him”.

Analysts, however, saw the chief adviser’s resignation threat as a test of public backing and political support.

Saturday’s (May 24, 2025) developments came amid reports of discord between the military and the interim government over the possible election timeline and a policy issue related to Bangladesh’s security affairs involving a proposed humanitarian corridor of aid channel to Myanmar’s rebel-held Rakhine state.

Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman along with the navy and air force chiefs met Mr Yunus three days ago and reportedly reiterated their call for election by December this year to allow an elected government to take charge and conveyed their reservation about the corridor issue.

The next day, Zaman held a senior officers meeting at Dhaka Cantonment and said he was unaware of several strategic decisions despite the military’s active role.

The military also decided to be tough against rampant “mob justice” in discharging their regulation enforcement duties.

Meanwhile, troops who had been referred to as out of their barracks with magistracy energy to take care of regulation and order had been seen intensifying their road patrols and safety vigil.

Several analysts referred to as the assembly essential to consolidate the army power.

During final yr’s protests, the military averted a crackdown, as an alternative prolonged its hand for Ms Hasina’s secure exit to India. It additionally supported Mr Yunus’ appointment as chief adviser, as demanded by the SAD, a lot of which later shaped the NCP.

Mr Yunus’s administration lately disbanded Ms Hasina’s Awami League, sending a lot of its senior leaders, together with former ministers, to jail to face trial for fees like crimes towards humanity.

The South Asian nation of some 170 million individuals has been in political turmoil because the ouster of the earlier regime. The state of affairs has escalated over the previous couple of days with rival events and commerce unions or strain teams protesting on the streets of the capital Dhaka with a string of competing calls for.