Asif Nazrul's election remarks don’t reflect government stance, says religion advisor

The interim government has apparently distanced itself by refusing to endorse the statements of the law advisor and the army chief about the possibility of general elections being held next year.

Religious Affairs Advisor AFM Khalid Hossain on Friday remarked that Gen Waker-uz-Zaman and Asif Nazrul’s remarks regarding the tentative election timing are not the official statements of the government, reports bdnews24.com. 

He emphasised that their comments on the matter are merely their own ‘personal statements’.

Khalid made the comments while speaking with the reporters at the Hilldown Circuit House in Cox’s Bazar.

While referring to the elections, the religion advisor said: “A government has fallen. An interim government has been installed to fill out the remainder of the government’s term. A bigger issue than that is the matter of state reform. If elections are held without reforms, then the state will remain unbalanced. This is why the government is working diligently on the reforms.”

The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus was sworn in on Aug 8. However, the government has not announced any specific outline for an election.

According to Bangladesh’s constitution, elections must take place within 90 days of the dissolution of a parliament. In case that cannot happen due to a natural disaster, the election must take place within the next 90 days.

But, since coming into power, the top priority of the interim government has been carrying out state reforms.

Although the BNP initially said that the government needs time for state reforms, the party has since demanded the announcement of a potential date for the elections.

Meanwhile, the law advisor has indicated that the next national elections in Bangladesh could 'realistically' be held by 2025.

He added that the interim government plans to constitute a new Election Commission through a search committee, which will update the voter list and organise the election by next year.

In an interview with Reuters on Sept 24, army chief Gen Waker indicated that the elections could occur in 18 months following reforms to the electoral process.

Referring to these statements, the religion advisor then said: “The statements made by Law Advisor Asif Nazrul and the army chief are not the statements of the government. The date of the election will not be fixed until the government issues a definite statement.”