B'desh interim govt will hand over power to elected govt after elections in Feb: Yunus

Dhaka, Aug 25 (PTI) Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Monday said the interim government led by him will hand over power to an elected government after the general elections in February next year.

“Now, we are ready for another transition in our political history...the country has come to this stable enough and ready to have the election. So, we announce the election in the first half of February 2026. The interim government will be replaced by an elected government," Yunus was quoted as saying by state-run BSS news agency.

He made the remarks while addressing a three-day international conference titled "Stakeholders' Dialogue: Takeaways to the High-Level Conference on Rohingya Situation" in Cox's Bazar.

"We are now at a crucial moment in our political history. A year ago, we went through a horrific massacre. Then, through a student-led mass uprising, it was possible to free the country from fascist rule," he said, referring to the Sheikh Hasina regime.

Hasina was ousted in a street movement on August 5, 2024. She is being tried in absentia at the International Crimes Tribunal on several charges.

Last week, Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman said the military was prepared to assist the interim government in ensuring “free, fair and neutral” general elections planned for February next year.

Earlier this month, Yunus said the elections would be held in February, and the Election Commission subsequently announced that the polls would be held in the first week of February.

Former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has emerged as the single largest party in Awami League’s absence after Yunus’ government disbanded its activities under an executive order.

An offshoot of Students Against Discrimination (SAD), which led protests against then-premier Sheikh Hasina, formed the National Citizen Party (NCP) in February, apparently with Yunus’ blessings. The NCP is believed to have developed ties with the far-right Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist groups against the BNP.

Despite assurances by Yunus and several of his advisers about free and fair polls within the announced deadline, a sense of uncertainty grew among political parties because of the comments and gestures of the NCP. PTI ZH ZH