Bangladesh elections set for April 2026; Yunus rules out early polls

Yunus confirms Bangladesh elections for April 2026, dismissing BNP's call for early polls amid political unrest, reform delays, and growing tensions with India since Hasina's exile in 2024

Bangladesh will hold its next general elections in the first half of April 2026, interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced on Friday, rejecting Opposition demands for an earlier vote.

 

In his national address ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, Yunus confirmed that the election commission would release a detailed roadmap in the coming months.

 

"The government has held discussions with all parties to organise the most free, fair, competitive and acceptable elections in history. In addition, after reviewing the ongoing reform activities related to justice, reform and elections, I am announcing to the people of the country today that the next national elections will be held on a day in the first half of April 2026," he said.

 

 

The timing of the elections has been at the centre of a growing dispute between Yunus and the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The BNP has insisted that elections be held by December this year.

 

Earlier, during a visit to Japan, Yunus stated that the polls could be held any time between December 2025 and June 2026, depending on how quickly electoral and governance reforms progressed.

 

He made the remarks at a public event in Tokyo on the same day the BNP staged a massive rally in Dhaka, demanding the return of what it called “the political rights of the youth.”

 

BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman issued a sharp warning to the interim government, urging it not to delay the polls.

 

Bangladesh has lacked a permanent elected government since Sheikh Hasina was forced into exile in August 2024. Her departure came amid large-scale protests over a controversial welfare and tax-exemption policy for families of 1971 war veterans.

 

Since then, Nobel laureate Yunus has led the interim government. His tenure has seen strained ties with India — first over rising violence against religious minorities, including Hindus, and later over his contentious remarks about New Delhi.