Bangladesh will hold its national elections in the first half of April 2026, the country’s de facto prime minister, Muhammad Yunus, announced on Friday.
“The Election Commission will provide you with a detailed roadmap for the elections at an appropriate time,” said Yunus, a Nobel peace laureate who assumed the role of interim leader last August.
The announcement puts an end to months of uncertainty and political debate over the timing of Bangladesh’s next general elections. Muhammad Yunus had previously indicated that the polls could take place anytime between December 2025 and June 2026, depending on the progress of ongoing reforms.
However, the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies had pushed for elections to be held by December 2025. In contrast, the recently formed National Citizen Party (NCP) argued that elections should only take place once key reforms are completed. Despite the pressure, Yunus emphasised that his priority remains completing reforms in the correct sequence before heading to the polls.
Yunus took charge following a student-led uprising that forced then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India, ending her long-standing grip on power in the South Asian nation of 173 million people.
(With inputs from PTI)
