People disappointed with announcement of B'desh polls in April 2026: BNP

Dhaka: People are "disappointed" by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus's announcement to hold elections in April 2026, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said on Saturday, reiterating the party's demand for polls by December this year.

“People’s victory was achieved through the immense sacrifices made by students and the masses during the July uprising. But the unwarranted delay in arranging the election has disappointed and angered the people,” Dhaka Tribune quoted the party as saying in a statement.

The statement said BNP's national standing committee, in an emergency virtual meeting, reiterated its proposal to hold the election by December this year, taking into consideration Ramadan, secondary and higher secondary or equivalent examinations, and weather conditions.

The meeting, presided over by BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, was convened following the chief adviser's announcement that ignored the aspirations of a nation striving to reclaim its right to vote through prolonged struggles.

“The people of this country, deprived of their basic voting rights for almost a decade and a half, have continued their struggle to restore democracy through voting, despite being disappeared, murdered, imprisoned, injured, and tortured,” it said.

“The meeting believes the people of the country may be rightly concerned about the possibility of a free and fair election under this government.” The BNP standing committee observed that holding the election in early April could lead to complications, both due to adverse weather conditions and the challenges of conducting campaigns and election-related activities during Ramadan, which may ultimately be used as grounds for deferring the polls.

It said the chief adviser’s address did not provide any clear justification as to why holding the election by December would not be feasible.

It said Yunus in his speech touched upon issues like ports and corridors — topics that did not fall within the interim government's three mandates - justice, reform and elections.

“The meeting expressed anger at his choice of words in the speech, which crossed the limits of political decorum,” the statement said.

Yunus, who took charge after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime in August last year, said the interim government's key responsibility was to hold a clean, peaceful, festive, and inclusive election.

Yunus’s announcement comes amid mounting pressure from former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s BNP and several other groups to hold the election by December.

The student-led NCP and several rightwing groups, however, said the polls must wait until the “reforms” and “justice” were done.