Bangladesh national elections: BNP rejects April 2026 poll date; 'people are disappointed'

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) criticised chief adviser Muhammad Yunus’s announcement of holding national elections next year in April, saying that people are “disappointed” by the delay.In a statement issued on Saturday, BNP said “People’s victory was achieved through the immense sacrifices made by students and the masses during the July uprising.”“But the unwarranted delay in arranging the election has disappointed and angered the people,” Dhaka Tribune quoted the statement.BNP’s national standing committee, led by acting chairman Tarique Rahman, held an emergency virtual meeting in response to Yunus’s address.

The committee reiterated its long-standing demand that elections be held no later than December this year, citing upcoming Ramadan, major school examinations, and potential weather disruptions as key considerations.“The people of this country, deprived of their basic voting rights for almost a decade and a half, have continued their struggle to restore democracy through voting, despite being disappeared, murdered, imprisoned, injured, and tortured,” the party said.

The BNP argued that holding elections during Ramadan in April could create logistical and political complications that might be used as an excuse for further delays. The party also criticised Yunus for failing to clearly explain why December was an unviable option.Moreover, the statement accused the chief adviser of straying beyond his interim mandate of overseeing justice, reform, and elections. “The meeting expressed anger at his choice of words in the speech, which crossed the limits of political decorum,” BNP said.Yunus assumed the role of chief adviser after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in August 2024. He had vowed to deliver “a clean, peaceful, festive, and inclusive election,” but his announcement appears to have intensified tensions with the BNP and other opposition forces.While the BNP, under the leadership of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, has demanded immediate polls, some student and right-wing groups have supported the delay, insisting that elections should follow meaningful reforms and justice processes.