December 17, 2024
DHAKA – Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus yesterday said it may be possible to hold the next general election at the end of 2025 or in the first half of 2026.
In his Victory Day address to the nation, he also announced he would lead a commission to forge a consensus among political parties and other stakeholders regarding reforms.
“The first task of the National Consensus-forming Commission will be to reach an early consensus on all the decisions that are necessary for holding the election and also finalise suggestions on when the election can be held after consultation with all.”
His announcement of the possible time frame for the election came amid growing calls from political parties for a roadmap to the parliamentary polls.
The Yunus administration, which took over after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina on August 5 in the wake of a student-led mass uprising, has constituted six commissions for promised reforms in different fields.
In his televised address yesterday, he said each of the reform commissions is important to meet people’s expectations. However, the preparations for and the date of the next national polls hinge on the recommendations of the Electoral Reforms Commission and the Constitution Reforms Commission.
The newly formed Election Commission will also need time, depending on the intensity of the required reforms.
It might be possible to hold the election by the end of 2025 if the election needs to be conducted following political consensus and if the voter list is accurately prepared with minimal reforms, Yunus said.
“On the other hand, if we aim to implement the desired level of reforms in line with the recommendations of the Electoral Reforms Commission and based on a national consensus, it could take at least an additional six months.
“Broadly speaking, the timeline for the election could be set between the end of 2025 and the first half of 2026.”
Talking about preparations for the election, Yunus said the EC has already begun its preparatory work.
He said the first and most significant task is to update the voter list, which is very challenging. It has become even more difficult because voters were not given the opportunity to participate in the last three elections. None had the chance to verify the voter list.
He underscored the need for including all eligible voters who have come of age during this period while removing duplicate entries from the voter roll.
“After a long time, many young women and men will be voting for the first time in their lives. They were deprived of those rights in the past. Their participation will make this election a historic and memorable event.”
He hoped that nearly 100 percent of the first-time young voters would cast their votes and create a new tradition.
The chief adviser urged the EC, political parties, and social organisations to take creative initiatives to ensure close to 100 percent turnout among first-time voters.
“If we can achieve this, no future government will dare to undermine the people’s right to vote.”
Yunus also reiterated the government’s commitment to enabling Bangladeshi expatriates to vote, a promise that has been made repeatedly in the past but never implemented.
He called for the creation of a reliable system to facilitate this process.
CONSENSUS COMMISSION
Yunus said Prof Ali Riaz, chief of the Constitution Reforms Commission, will be the vice-chairman of the new commission for national consensus. The chairmen of the five other commissions will be members of the new commission.
These five commissions were formed for reforms to the electoral system, judiciary, police administration, Anti-Corruption Commission and public administration.
The consensus commission would be able to start its work next month after getting the recommendations of the six reform commissions, Yunus said. He hoped that the six reform commissions would submit their final report soon.
The new commission’s task will be to exchange views with all stakeholders, including political parties; to identify the issues on which consensus will be required; and to make recommendations for implementation, Yunus said.
ECONOMY TURNING AROUND
Yunus said the people have entrusted the interim government with many responsibilities apart from conducting the election and reforms.
He said when the interim government assumed office, the economy was on the verge of a collapse, but the situation has seen significant improvement in the last four months. No banks have had to shut down, no matter how weak they were; measures have been taken to ensure their survival.
He said exports reached $16.11 billion during the July-November period of 2024, up by 12.34 percent from $14.34 billion in the same period last year.
He said the government decided to raise the wages of garment workers, one of the main driving forces of the economy, by 9 percent upon consultation with labour unions and the owners, considering high inflation.
Yunus, however, admitted that the government has not yet achieved the desired success in controlling runaway inflation despite various measures like increasing supply, reducing duty on imports, reducing the influence of middlemen and through market supervision.
He said if the extortion in the transport sector is stopped fully, the prices of essentials will come down further.
The chief adviser sought everyone’s cooperation to keep commodity prices affordable in the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.
If anyone tries to profiteer by creating an artificial crisis, the government will take strict action against them, he said.
WHITE PAPER ‘SHOCKING’
Yunus said revelations by the White Paper on the State of the Bangladesh Economy left people in “shock” and “disbelief”.
“In broad daylight and under everyone’s nose, thousands of crores of taka were siphoned off from banks. No one spoke up. No one saw. Those who plundered the money faced no resistance”, he said. “Massive projects were undertaken with borrowed money, under the guise of which enormous sums were looted.”
He said the White Paper Committee revealed in its report that almost half of the annual development expenditure was looted and a crony-capitalist system was established, benefitting the authoritarian regime and its allies.
“This stolen money is now being used to create unrest in the country and to make their return to the country. You can clearly see how this money is being spent on propaganda against the unity in the country.”
He said the Bangladesh Bank is trying its best to bring back the siphoned off money. He said the task is daunting because the legal framework surrounding such matters is stringent.
‘UNIMAGINABLE BRUTALITY’
Yunus said the first volume of the report of the commission for inquiry into enforced disappearances is actually a “chilling document” and it details the “unimaginable brutality” that humans can inflict on one another.
This report will remain as an immortal historical record of the most despicable chapter of the previous government, he said.
The report cannot be made public for the safety of the many families of victims, he added.
TRIAL OF FALLEN AUTOCRATS
Yunus said the trial of fallen dictator Hasina and her allies involved in the July-August massacre is progressing. He said the International Crimes Tribunal Act has been amended.
For transparency of the trial process, the accused have been allowed to appoint foreign lawyers. The trial process has been kept open to journalists, human rights activists and other observers.
The chief adviser said that at a recent meeting, he had informed the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim AA Khan, that Bangladesh would file a case against the perpetrators of genocide during the uprising with the ICC for crimes against humanity.
‘REMAIN UNITED’
Yunus recalled the supreme sacrifices of the freedom fighters during the Liberation War. He also thanked President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta, also a Nobel Peace laureate who joined the celebration of Bangladesh’s Victory Day.
“Let the month of victory be the month of reaffirming the pledge to build a new Bangladesh, keeping in mind the uprising of the students and masses.”
He urged all to build a society, where minority groups would not be afraid of the majority, women would not be afraid of men, the poor would not be afraid of the rich and the people would not be afraid to express their views.
He also called upon everyone in Bangladesh — regardless of party, ideology, ethnicity, religion, caste, or age — to remain united.
“We were able to oust a powerful authoritarian government through national unity. They are still trying with all their might to divide the nation. They aim to destroy national unity through communal politics, inciting one group against another. Do not, under any circumstances, allow their vile efforts to succeed.”