The head of the country’s caretaker government announced that elections might take place in Bangladesh towards the end of next year. According to Muhammad Yunus, who has been the Nobel laureate caretaker of government since August, electoral reforms will need to be undertaken for the polls. According to Yunus, if a political consensus could be achieved and a good and less modified updated voter list is prepared, elections might be held at the end of next year.
The interim government has been ruling Bangladesh since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India due to mass protests in the country. General Waker-uz-Zaman, the army chief of the country who did not support Hasina during the violent student protests leading to her expulsion, in September argued that democracy should be reinstated between twelve to eighteen months.
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Reiterating his words on the 53rd anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence, Yunus said there would be no elections until necessary reforms take place. He further added that such reforms, if made more, will take about at least six months if a national agreement is considered.
The opposition parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have been demanding elections without delay. The BNP has announced that the country should return to the path of democracy quickly, as it is one of the dominant parties along with the Awami League.