New Delhi, Feb 11 (EFE).- The leader of the interim government of Bangladesh, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, said on Tuesday that he was considering holding general elections in December of this year, if a “political consensus” was reached on the reforms underway in the country.<\/p>
“The Chief Adviser (Yunus’ position) reiterated his plan to hold the election in December if a political consensus could be reached over reform initiatives,” the spokesperson for the interim government, Azad Majumder, told EFE.<\/p>
“However, if a broader reform is desired the election could be delayed upto June 2026,” he added.<\/p>
Bangladesh, where the interim government led by Yunus has been in power since August 2024, faced a serious political crisis after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, currently in India, was ousted.<\/p>
The holding of new elections has been one of the main demands of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.<\/p>
According to Bangladeshi media reports, representatives of the BNP and the interim government met in Dhaka on Monday. <\/p>
At the meeting, the government conveyed to the BNP its intention to hold the general elections in Bangladesh in December.<\/p>
The previous general elections in this country were held in January 2024 but were boycotted by the opposition, which accused Hasina’s government – whose party, Awami League, won for the fourth consecutive time – of repressing its political opponents and rigging the vote.<\/p>
Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee the country on Aug. 5 after the intensification of student protests against a controversial quota system reserving jobs for the descendants of fighters in Bangladesh’s war of independence.<\/p>
The demonstrations were initially peaceful but soon turned deadly following a brutal crackdown by Bangladeshi security forces that caused hundreds of deaths, according to Yunus’ interim government.<\/p>
In recent days, Bangladeshi authorities have arrested dozens of people accused of being involved in a clash at the residence of a former collaborator of Hasina, in which 18 people were injured. EFE<\/p>
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