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ARCHIVE - Muhammad Yunus, head of the interim government of Bangladesh, speaks to media representatives at the UN climate summit COP29. He announced a new date for a parliamentary election on August 5, 2025. Photo: Sergei Grits/AP/dpa
Keystone
Bangladesh's interim government wants to hold a new parliamentary election next February, two months earlier than planned. He will send a letter with the corresponding request to the election commission, said interim head of government Muhammad Yunus in a televised address. The announcement was made on the first anniversary of the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Yunus had come under increasing pressure in recent months to set an early election date. In June, he initially declared that the election would take place in the first half of April 2026. The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner was criticized for this by the opposition, which demanded an earlier date.
Initiation of the transfer of power
Yunus now described the election as the final task of the transitional government. "We are entering the process of handing over power to an elected government."
The increasingly authoritarian Hasina resigned on August 5, 2024 following mass protests against her government and clashes between demonstrators and security forces. She was taken by military helicopter to India, which provided her with protection. From India, she repeatedly criticized the government in Dhaka.
A few days after Hasina fled, Yunus had taken over the office of head of government on an interim basis with the backing of the powerful military. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed during the protests.
05.08.2025, 20:01
