Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh to be held in February 2026: Muhammad Yunus

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday announced that the next general election would be held in February, as thousands of people joined a rally in Dhaka to mark the first anniversary of the 'July Uprising' that toppled longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

"On behalf of the interim government, I will send a letter to the chief election commissioner requesting that the Election Commission hold the national election in February 2026, before Ramzan," Yunus said in a televised address to the nation on the first anniversary of last year's student-led protest movement - dubbed as 'July Uprising'.

The month of Ramzan is set to begin on February 17 or 18 next year, depending on the sighting of the moon. Earlier, general elections in Bangladesh were scheduled for the first half of April next year.

"We want this election to be memorable in our nation's history - in terms of joy and festivity, peace and order, voter turnout, and in terms of harmony and sincerity," Yunus said as he promised to extend all possible support to ensure a “free, fair, peaceful, and festive”



election.

Yunus, 85, said his government would start "both mental and institutional readiness to accomplish all necessary preparations, starting tomorrow".

The interim government led by Yunus has disbanded all activities of Hasina's Awami League and arrested its top leaders, resulting in the emergence of former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) as the single major actor in the political arena.

A large offshoot of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD), which led the protests against Hasina, formed the National Citizen Party (NCP) in February, apparently with Yunus’ blessings. The NCP recently presented its manifesto, vowing to turn Bangladesh into a “Second Republic” and scrap the country's post-independence 1972 Constitution.

The NCP is believed to have developed ties with far-right Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist groups against BNP.

Earlier, Yunus called the 'July Uprising' anniversary an “unforgettable chapter in the history of Bangladesh” as it had led to "liberating our beloved nation from the grip of long-standing fascist rule".