London– As Bangladesh continues to face deepening political unrest, interim government Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus held a private meeting on Friday with Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), at a hotel in London. The meeting came during Yunus’s official visit to the United Kingdom and is seen as a pivotal moment in the country’s ongoing electoral impasse.
According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, Rahman urged Yunus to schedule the upcoming national elections before the start of Ramadan in 2026, a position reportedly also supported by BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Yunus reaffirmed his previous announcement that elections would take place in the first half of April 2026 but indicated flexibility. “If preparations are complete, elections could be held in the week preceding Ramadan,” Yunus said, emphasizing the need for substantial progress on electoral reforms and justice before any shift in timeline.
This marked the first private meeting between Rahman and Yunus since Rahman went into self-imposed exile in London in September 2008. Ramadan is expected to begin in mid-February next year, which has increased pressure on the interim government to accelerate its timeline.
The BNP has been vocal in its demand for national elections by December 2025. Rahman, who has been directing party activities remotely from London, reiterated this stance in several recent virtual addresses to party supporters. “The people of Bangladesh deserve a government elected through a fair and timely vote,” Rahman stated during a recent rally.
Earlier, Yunus had addressed the nation in a televised speech ahead of Eid, saying, “The next national elections will be held on a day in the first half of April 2026.” He added that the Election Commission would provide a more detailed roadmap “at the appropriate time.”
However, this proposed timeline has been sharply criticized by opposition leaders. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir argued that April is “not suitable in any way” for conducting national polls. “Extreme heat, seasonal storms, rains, Ramadan observances, and public exams make April a challenging period for elections,” he said.
BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed added that if consensus-based reforms are enacted—excluding constitutional amendments—elections could realistically be held much earlier. “With national consensus, necessary reforms could be completed in less than a month,” he told local media at a recent forum hosted by the Gono Odhikar Parishad.
The interim government, which came to power nearly 10 months ago, is facing mounting pressure from the BNP and other parties to schedule elections by the end of this year. Last month, Rahman called on the country’s youth to push for a December election deadline, referencing the historical precedent of caretaker governments organizing elections within a three-month window.
“If you want to govern, resign and stand with the people,” Rahman declared in his address. “Contest elections and earn your mandate. That is the foundation of a truly accountable and democratic government.”
As political tensions continue to simmer, observers say the meeting in London could either open a path to compromise or further expose the fault lines in Bangladesh’s fractured political landscape. (Source: IANS)
