Bangladesh’s interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus announced on Friday that national elections will take place in the first half of April 2026, marking the country’s return to electoral governance after a two-year period of unelected leadership.
Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has led the transitional government since August 2024, following mass student protests that forced then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India. His administration has faced rising unrest, with recent protests over wage disputes and public service dismissals without due process.
In a national address, Yunus stated that the Election Commission will soon release a detailed election roadmap. He emphasized that he has no political affiliations and will not run in the election.
Calls for earlier elections came from opposition parties like the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), warning that delaying the vote beyond December could spark further instability. BNP leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is now eligible to run, following her acquittal in a long-standing corruption case.
Meanwhile, Hasina’s Awami League remains sidelined, with its registration suspended and its activities banned under anti-terror laws after nationwide protests.
Hasina, previously credited for economic gains but criticized for authoritarian rule, won a fourth term in 2024 in a contested election boycotted by opposition leaders.