A Correspondent:
Tokyo: Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam yesterday said Chief Adviser Professor Muham-mad Yunus has informed Japan that he has announced a ‘cut-off timeframe’ for polls in Bangladesh, reiterating that the country’s next national election will be held any time between December 2025 and June 2026.
Prof Yunus told former Japanese Prime Minister and Japan-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship League President Taro Aso about the Bangladesh’s next polls during a meeting with him on the first day of his Japan tour, Alam said.
“Prof Yunus has set a six-month time frame, and the election will be conducted within that period,” he said while briefing reporters in Tokyo.
The press secretary said Prof Yunus will announce a specific date for the national election as soon as all preparations are completed.
Taro Aso met the Chief Adviser at the bilateral meeting room of the Imperial Hotel.
Alam said the election window up to June is also a roadmap as Prof Yunus has provided a special “cut-off time” as he unequivocally announced that he would not remain in power for a single day beyond June.
Claiming that the interim government is working actively on multiple fronts, he said, “We are now un-dertaking economic, administrative, and legal reforms. Works of the Election Commission is going on steadily”.
About political consensus, he said Vice Chairman of the National Consensus Commission Prof Ali Riaz has already outlined areas where political parties need to agree.
The Commission will begin its second round of discussions in early June, the press secretary said, adding the government hopes political parties will reach a consensus on reforms soon and then reform efforts will be accelerated by July.
He said the Chief Adviser is moving forward with three specific agendas — reform, trial (of fascist ele-ments), and election.
Prof Yunus will announce a specific date for the elections once everything is ready.
