Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus announces elections in April 2026

Bangladesh elections: Bangladesh will head to the polls early April 2026 for the first time since a mass uprising overthrew the government last year, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said Friday.

"I am announcing to the citizens of the country that the election will be held on any day in the first half of April 2026," Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who leads the caretaker government, said in a speech to the nation.

In 2024, Bangladesh was plunged into political turmoil as widespread protests swept through the nation, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August, who currently is in exile in India.

India had earlier called for the early holding of free, fair, and inclusive elections in Bangladesh, while raising concerns over the neighbouring country’s ban on Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League.

Election roadmap for Bangladesh polls

Yunus announced about the elections during a televised address to the nation on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. He added that the election commission will soon come up with a detailed election roadmap.

“After reviewing the ongoing reforms related to justice, governance, and the electoral process, I am announcing to the nation today that the next national election will be held on any day in the first half of April 2026,” Yunus said.

Muhammad Yunus' deadline

Last month, Muhammad Yunus, during his visit to Japan, announced that the next national elections will be held “any time between December and June next year”.

Bangladesh ex-PM Sheikh Hasina indicted on mass murder charges

Muhammed Yunus' announcement for the Bangladesh polls also comes a week after the nation's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) formally indicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others on multiple charges, including mass murder, in connection with their alleged violent crackdown on student-led protests that swept through the nation last year.

A three-judge bench of the ICT took cognizance of the charges after prosecutors accused Hasina and her former colleagues of using brutal force against protesters.