Just one election is not the goal of uprising, says Yunus’ adviser

Supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) shout slogans during a rally demanding a democratic transition through an election in Dhaka, Bangladesh. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Days after Chief Adviser Prof. Mohammad Yunus promised to hold an election in Bangladesh in 2025 or early 2026, a leading member of his Advisory Council declared on Wednesday that organising “just one election” was not the aim of the people-student uprising. The comment from Asif Mahmud, former student coordinator of the  Anti-Discrimination Students Movement and the current adviser in charge of multiple ministries, has stoked further discussion about the prospects of elections in Bangladesh which has been under the Interim Government since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August.

“The people’s uprising had a one-point agenda; that was to bring down Sheikh Hasina’s government and end the fascist system. The fascist system has destroyed almost all the institutions of the country. For completion of the one-point agenda, it is necessary to implement the reforms process,” said Mr. Mahmud.

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Mr. Mahmud, who is in charge of the Ministries of Local Governance, Rural Development and Youth and Sports Affairs, said that multiple reform commissions, which were constituted in August, are on track. Citing Mr. Mahmud’s remarks, state-owned Bangladesh Sanbad Sansthan reported that he was talking about long-term issues that were beyond the ambit of electoral politics and said, “More than two thousand people did not die and more than twenty-thousand citizens were not injured just for holding one election or vote”.

He further said, “Our commissions have been working for nearly three months. They will give their recommendations and after that we will discuss the path ahead after discussing with various stakeholders.”

The remarks came days after Mr. Yunus came out with a promise to hold elections in Bangladesh. On the occasion of the Victory Day of 16 December, which annually celebrates the victory of the War of Liberation against Pakistan’s rule, Mr. Yunus had announced that elections in Bangladesh would be held either later in 2025 or during early part of 2026.

The announcement has ever since triggered speculation, with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party declaring last week that it was disappointed because Mr. Yunus did not give a specific date for holding elections.

In a press conference, BNP General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “We had hoped that the chief adviser would come up with a clear election roadmap, but he did not do so. This has left us and the nation disappointed.”

The reform process of the Yunus-led Interim Government has also received heightened public attention because of the goals they have set up.

Constitutional Reforms Commission’s head Prof. Ali Riaz pointed out that the constitution reform will aim to make Bangladesh more amenable to the ambition of its young population.

In an interview with popular news outlet Kaler Kontho Mr. Riaz said that the commission is trying to create more space for the participation of the young population in nation-building activities and to that end, the commission was considering reducing the 25-year age limit for MPst down to 21. “We urge political parties to keep 1/4^th or 1/3^rd of their nominations for the youth as tomorrow’s Bangladesh will be built by the young people,” Mr. Riaz was quoted as saying by Kaler Kontho.