Dhaka: Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, has hinted at holding national elections in early February next year.
"The Chief Adviser said that he has announced that the elections will be held by the first half of February next year. If all preparations are completed, the elections could be held even in the week before the start of Ramadan in 2026," said a joint statement issued after the talks between Muhammad Yunus and Acting BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman in London.
"In that case, it will be necessary to achieve sufficient progress on reform and justice within that period," it added.
"Today, BNP Acting Chairperson Mr. Tarique Rahman met with visiting Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus in London. Their meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere," the statement said.
Tarique Rahman proposed to the Chief Adviser to hold the elections before Ramadan next year. Party Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia also thinks it would be better if the elections were held at that time, the statement added.
Many are considering the London meeting between Muhammad Yunus and Tarique Rahman as a game-changer for Bangladeshi politics.
Right now, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's BNP is the largest Political Party in Bangladesh, as Sheikh Hasina's Awami League is banned from running.
Tarique Rahman, the son of Khaleda Zia, seems set to return soon to Bangladesh after 16 years in exile in London.
Muhammad Yunus is now in London in a four-day official visit. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declined to meet Yunus after Awami League concerns.
Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a student-led uprising in August last year. She is now living in India in a self-imposed exile. After Sheikh Hasina's fall, an interim government was formed under leadership of Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Laureate.
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