Bangladesh Election / How will elections be held in BAN? BNP and Hasina are upset with Yunus's announcement

Bangladesh Election: Chief Advisor to the Interim Government of Bangladesh Mohammad Yunus is facing tremendous political pressure these days. Recently, he has announced to hold general elections in April 2026, but has not given any clarity on the date of the elections so far. This decision has made the political landscape of Bangladesh more tense. The main opposition parties—Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh—have outright rejected the April 2026 deadline, demanding elections to be held in December 2025 itself.

Yunus' announcement and sharp reaction from the opposition

In a television address on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha on June 6, Mohammad Yunus had said that the Election Commission would soon release a detailed roadmap. This announcement was made after the student uprising of August 2024, due to which the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to step down. However, the opposition has termed Yunus's announcement as a symbol of the government's weakness and indecisiveness.

In an emergency meeting of the BNP's Standing Committee, the party's acting president Tariq Rahman said that "90 percent of political parties have demanded elections by December, so the proposal of April 2026 is an insult to democracy." BNP opposed the postponement of the elections, citing practical constraints such as Ramadan, weather, and examinations.

Preparation for movement with public support

BNP and its allies are now preparing to go among the public and garner support on this issue. They are calling it a fight to protect democracy and are claiming that the Yunus government is deliberately delaying the elections to maintain its hold on power. According to reports, BNP along with other smaller parties is planning to launch a massive nationwide movement demanding elections in December.

Sheikh Hasina's sharp attack

Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also directly attacked Mohammad Yunus. In an audio message, he accused Yunus of providing protection to terrorists and said, “This government is leading Bangladesh towards destruction. Yunus does not want to hold elections. Under his rule, the institutions we built are being destroyed and the country's economic structure is weakening.”

Hasina's party, the Awami League—which is now banned—has also accused Yunus of spreading lies and working at the behest of foreign powers. The party says that the Yunus government is only engaged in garnering international support, ignoring the expectations of the people.

Yunus's activism on the international front

Mohammad Yunus has recently visited China and Japan and soon a visit to the UK and the US is also proposed. Experts believe that Yunus is trying to strengthen the legitimacy of his government by garnering international support. But at the domestic level, the pressure of the opposition, the army and the public is constantly increasing.