Election can be held before Ramadan

General election can be held in Bangladesh next February, ahead of Ramadan, provided there should be substantial progress in reforms and trial of the perpetrators of July atrocities, according to a London accord.

Chief Adviser of the interim government Dr Muhammad Yunus conditionally agreed to advance the polls from his earlier-announced time line to April 2026 during his much-hyped meeting with BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman in London on Friday.

"Mr. Tarique Rahman proposed to the Chief Adviser that elections be held before the upcoming Ramadan next year. The party's Chairperson, Begum Khaleda Zia, also believes that it would be preferable to hold the elections during that time," says a joint statement from the Chief Adviser and the Acting BNP Chairman following their meeting.

"The Chief Adviser stated that he had announced the intention to hold elections within the first half of April next year. If all preparations can be completed, it may be possible to organise the elections in the week before Ramadan begins in 2026. However, in that case, sufficient progress will need to be made on reforms and the trial of the perpetrators of the July atrocities within that timeframe," it reads.

According to the joint communiqué, Mr. Tarique Rahman lauded the Chief Adviser's gesture as regards the transition through earlier elections and thanked him on behalf of the party.

The head of interim government also reciprocated with thanks to Mr. Tarique Rahman for the fruitful discussion.

The readout was followed by a joint press briefing where BNP standing committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the election commission would announce the schedule of the general election.

Responding to a question, he said BNP is for conducting reforms before and after elections.

Asked about his party's position on 'July Charter' validating the student-mass uprising that unseated the Sheikh Hasina government, he said it would be formulated on the basis of consensus among political parties.

National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman said both sides were satisfied with the outcome of the London conclave. The meeting began, as scheduled, on time, at 9:00am local time, and ended at 10:30am. Tarique left his London residence around 1:00pm Bangladesh time, accompanied by BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khosru and International Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir.

As they reached the hotel, the BNP leaders were greeted by party activists gathered in front of The Dorchester earlier in the morning, waving banners, placards, and posters in anticipation of what is seen as crisis-resolution meet.

As Tarique got in the meeting room, Dr Yunus received him cordially--and the two exchanged pleasantries during the first few minutes in the lead-up. "What a charming weather this morning," said the chief adviser, whose government is facing political tensions back at home, cardinally centering post-uprising state reforms and polls being demanded by Tarique's party by this December.

Tarique inquired about the wellbeing of Dr Yunus and conveyed his mother BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's Salam to him.

The uprising-catapulted ruler of Bangladesh in the interregnum, Nobel-laureate Yunus, is now in London on a four-day visit while Tarique has lived in the capital of the United Kingdom in exile for nearly two decades since the 1/11/ 2007 political changeover at the end of last BNP stint in power.

Ever since the chief adviser's UK visit was announced on June 4, speculations ran rife about a chance meeting between the two, even though it was not in the CA's itinerary.

On Tuesday, BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the chief adviser had invited Tarique for a meeting at his hotel suite at The Dorchester. He confirmed that the meeting was happening.

According to political analysts, the meeting will help in mitigating the rising tensions that surfaced between the two sides centering the poll timing.

And, as the news came in flying, Mirza Fakhrul told journalists in Dhaka that the London one-on-one would remove the "stalemate" and pave the way forward.

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com