Not interested in being part of Bangladesh's next elected govt: Yunus

Dhaka: Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday said he would not be interested in being part of the next elected government, according to a media report.

The 84-year-old Nobel Laureate, who took over as the head of the interim government in August last year after the ouster of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, announced last week that national elections will be held by the first half of April 2026.

Yunus, during a question-and-answer session at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in Chatham House, London, said that the interim government’s job was to ensure a well-managed transition to hand over power to an elected government, state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported.

"No way, no way. I think no one of our cabinet members (Council of Advisers) would like to do that," he said, responding to a question whether he has any desire to become part of the next democratically elected government.

"We want to make sure that the election is right. This is a very critical factor for us," he said.

Replying to another question about Hasina’s Awami League, Yunus said there is a debate over whether the party can truly be called a political party when it is accused of killing young people, making citizens disappear and stealing public money.

Ousted on August 5 last year after a massive student-led agitation, Hasina faces multiple cases in Bangladesh.

Yunus, who is in the UK from June 10-13, will meet King Charles and Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his visit.

Earlier, former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said people are "disappointed" by Yunus's announcement to hold elections in April 2026. The party reiterated its demand for polls by December this year.