Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has said that next national polls will be held within June 2026.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, he also said the timeline will depend on how many reforms all agree or disagree on, reports The Daily Star.
If the consensus is on a larger number of reforms, then it will take longer. "If we can focus on a smaller version of the implementation, then we will have an early election in December," he said in the interview that was aired yesterday.
"However, if the process takes longer, we go up to June, but we will not go beyond June," he added.
Yunus promised that the next election will be best ever election in the country`s history.
Asked if the Awami League will be allowed to take part in the polls, Yunus said, "We don`t know yet, they have not declared anything."
He said once the declaration comes, then the matter of the response from the Election Commission and other factors will arise. Then there are other parties who may say that under this law they cannot participate and so on, he added.
Asked whether the "honeymoon period" for the interim government was over, Yunus said people think the interim government is still a good solution for them.
"They`re not saying let the interim government go, have the election today… We have not faced any such problem of people saying that `hand it over as soon as possible`," he added.
Asked about ousted PM`s claim that she is still the "rightful prime minister" and how the government viewed her presence in India, he said he had a meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi during the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. "I made it very clear that, okay if you want to keep her that is probably not something that I can settle with you, but definitely while she`s there, she should not be talking because it creates a lot of problems for us.
"She`s giving speeches to incite people inside of Bangladesh, and we have to suffer from that," Yunus added.
Asked about Modi`s response, Yunus said, "If I recollect, he said this is a country where social media is open to anybody. I cannot control that."
Asked if he thought India was offering Sheikh Hasina political cover, should she face justice back home, Yunus said, "We have already sent a letter to Indian government to send her to Bangladesh. They have not responded yet, but when the legal procedures begin and the court will give the notice …" he added.
The anchor then said, "So let me get this straight you`re saying that Prime Minister Modi has told you we can`t do anything about her freedom of speech in a country India that has been accused of stifling freedom of speech and in no way have you been given any kind of guarantees that she will be sent back to face justice?"
Yunus said, "no."
On Bangladesh and India relations, Yunus said, "This is one of the cases that we have to resolve ourselves … we understand what their legal situation is, what our legal situation is. But we are waiting for the legal notice from the court."
Asked if Yunus decided to visit China first deliberately before India and whether he was sending a message, Yunus said he was visiting countries where he would like to go.
"I tried to go to India, but they didn`t respond to it. So, I went to China, and now I`ll go to Malaysia," he said.
He said he is visiting countries to revive SAARC.
Asked if India has given him a cold shoulder, and is he now deepening ties with Pakistan as an alternative, Yunus said, "I will not say cold shoulder. It`s maybe a temporary thing… something we have to resolve together. I`ll not take this as a final thing, it`s not something long-lasting."
Talking about Bangladesh`s relationship with the Trump administration, Yunus said his government has a very good, strong, and warm relationship with the Trump administration.
Asked if he saw the US as a reliable partner or was he being forced to choose between Beijing and Washington DC, Yunus said, "No this is not a question of choice, they`re all our friends. The USA is a good friend, China is a good friend, India is a good friend."
Yunus said that foreign governments are helping Bangladesh so that Bangladesh could get back its money laundered abroad.
