Interim leader says that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026
\n DHAKA
\nBangladesh\u2019s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker government installed after an August revolution, said Monday that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026.
\nPressure has been growing on Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus \u2013 appointed the country\u2019s \u201cchief adviser\u201d after the student-led uprising that toppled ex-premier Sheikh Hasina in August \u2013 to set a date.
\nThe 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is leading a temporary administration to tackle what he has called the \u201cextremely tough\u201d challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of some 170 million people.
\n\u201cElection dates could be fixed by the end of 2025 or the first half of 2026,\u201d he said in a broadcast on state television.
\nHasina, 77, fled by helicopter to neighboring India as thousands of protesters stormed the prime minister\u2019s palace in Dhaka.
\nHer government was also accused of politicizing courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections, to dismantle democratic checks on its power.
\nHasina\u2019s 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
\nYunus has launched commissions to oversee a raft of reforms he says are needed, and setting an election date depends on what political parties agree.
\n\u201cThroughout, I have emphasized that reforms should take place first before the arrangements for an election,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIf the political parties agree to hold the election on an earlier date with minimum reforms, such as having a flawless voter list, the election could be held by the end of November,\u201d he added.
\nBut including the full list of electoral reforms would delay polls by a few months, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Interim leader says that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026 DHAKA Bangladesh\u2019s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker government installed after an August revolution, said Monday that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026. Pressure has been growing on Nobel Peace Prize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-449841","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n