Bangladesh to Hold General Elections on February 12, Yunus Tells US Envoy

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, told a senior United States official on Monday that the country’s next general election would be held on schedule in February, even as relations with neighboring India remain strained and political tensions at home continue to simmer.

According to a statement posted on the official Facebook page of Prof Yunus’ office, the Chief Adviser said during a telephone conversation on Monday that national elections would take place on February 12, describing the vote as a long-delayed opportunity to restore democratic rights after years of what he claimed was authoritarian rule.

“The nation is eagerly waiting to exercise their voting rights, which were stolen by the autocratic regime,” Yunus was quoted as saying during the call.

The conversation, held around 7:30 p.m. local time and lasting about half an hour, was with Sergio Gor, the United States special envoy for South and Central Asia, who also serves as Washington’s ambassador to India.

The discussion covered trade and tariff negotiations, Bangladesh’s democratic transition, preparations for the upcoming election and the death of a radical political activist, Sharif Osman Hadi. The exchange came at a delicate moment for Bangladesh’s foreign relations, particularly with India.

Bangladesh has shut down visa application centers in New Delhi, Agartala and Siliguri, effective Tuesday citing security concerns, a move that has disrupted travel and people-to-people exchanges between the two neighbors.

The closures ironically followed a wave of mob attacks on Indian diplomatic missions and facilities in Bangladesh, including assaults that prompted New Delhi to raise concerns over the safety of its diplomats.

Adding to the unease, several Bangladeshi student leaders have delivered speeches openly hostile to India, some of them issuing threats against Indian diplomats — rhetoric that Indian officials have described privately as unprecedented in its intensity.

New Delhi has so far responded cautiously, wary of inflaming tensions while closely monitoring developments.

During the call, Gor congratulated Yunus on Bangladesh’s recent success in trade negotiations with Washington.

The interim government secured a reduction in reciprocal US tariffs on Bangladeshi exports to 20 percent, a development officials in Dhaka have portrayed as a significant achievement at a time of political uncertainty.

The American envoy also raised the issue of the large funeral held for Sharif Osman Hadi, whose killing has become a rallying point for competing political narratives in the country.

According to the Facebook post, Professor Yunus told the American envoy that supporters of the ousted Awami League government were spending millions of dollars in an effort to destabilise the electoral process, while the former leader, Sheikh Hasina, now living in refuge in India, was allegedly inciting violence from abroad.

Still, he said, the interim administration was prepared. “We have roughly 50 days to go before the election,” Yunus said. “We want to hold a free, fair and peaceful election. We want to make it remarkable.”

While the interim government has banned Awami League, the largest party in Bangladesh from participating in the elections, many countries including India have called for “free, fair and inclusive elections”.

Many analysts believe with mobs being allowed to reign in large swathes of Bangladesh, a free election may not be possible. While without the participation of Awami League the elections could hardly be inclusive.

Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin, National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman and Lamiya Morshed, a senior secretary and coordinator for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, were present during the call, the statement by Yunus’s office said.