After the meeting between Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman in London, it was announced that elections could be held in the week before the start of Ramadan in 2026. In that case, sufficient progress needs to be made on reforms and the trial of the July massacre within that period. However, the National Consensus Commission is struggling to establish political consensus on some basic issues so far. If the issues are not resolved, doubts are rising about holding national elections in the first half of February next year.
Apart from that, no formal announcement has been made by the government about the elections. Meanwhile, the country's largest political party, BNP, and like-minded parties want visible initiatives from the government as per the joint declaration of the London meeting. Although there are concerns about this, the party is preparing for the elections around February.
Concerns about the elections: BNP officials say that no reflection of the London meeting held on June 13 is visible in the activities of the Election Commission. In addition, BNP considers the demand for local government elections before the national elections and the consensus of many parties on the proportional representation (PR) system as factors to delay the national elections. The demand for proportional representation in local government elections and the legislative assembly before the 13th National Parliament elections was recently raised strongly by the parties concerned at a rally in Dhaka. Jamaat-e-Islami, NCP and like-minded parties raised this demand at a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital organized by the Islami Andolon Bangladesh. BNP and its like-minded parties were not invited there as they were opposed to this demand. The 23 parties want the upper house of parliament seats to be distributed in proportion to the votes they received in the elections. The government had expressed hope that if a consensus was reached on the basic issues by this July, one of the 'July Charter' or 'July Declaration' could be given early next month as promised by the government. In reality, due to the intransigence of the parties on many issues, there has been apprehension about the July Charter. The Consensus Commission had hoped to sign the 'July Charter' on the death anniversary of Abu Sayeed on July 16. But this may not be possible on that day.
Although the parties have made various demands from their respective positions and have adopted strategies to put pressure on the government, there are questions in almost all quarters about what exactly the government is going to do. After returning from London, Chief Advisor Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus spoke to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). Unconfirmed sources say that the issue of examining the possibility of national elections and limited-scale local government elections came up for discussion in the meeting between the Chief Advisor and the CEC. Although CEC AMM Nasir Uddin later said that no discussion was held on the date of the national elections in the discussion with the Chief Advisor. Meanwhile, many inside and outside the government feel that outside the formal dialogue and informal meetings, various quarters are exerting influence to control the pace of the dialogue on various issues. This is not accelerating the efforts to reach a consensus. There are also fears of a complication with the July declaration. While political parties are on the verge of a consensus on the 'July Charter', important parties including BNP, Jamaat, and NCP have not yet agreed on the 'declaration' of the July mass uprising.
BNP's election preparations: BNP is preparing for the election journey assuming that the elections may be held in February next year. BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman is giving special importance to the selection of candidates, considering that the next parliamentary elections will be 'difficult' even if the Awami League is not in the field. Those who are ahead in terms of qualifications, experience, popularity and acceptability will get the party's nomination in the final judgment. BNP's policymakers are preparing the election plan with utmost caution and care. They want to take well-thought-out steps in all areas, from selecting candidates to writing the manifesto and campaigning, to contest the election. In addition, discussions are underway on whether BNP will run alone or in an alliance. For this, new discussions have begun with the partners of the simultaneous movement, and there is talk of holding the election together. However, it is not yet decided in what structure it will be. No decision has been made yet on whether there will be an alliance with the parties that have held simultaneous movements with BNP in the past or whether seats will be given up for them.
Those concerned say that BNP wants to repay the contributions of the parties that united with BNP and staged protests in the past and boycotted the elections. Along with other issues, this issue will also be taken into consideration while writing the election manifesto. A 31-point plan to repair the state structure has been formulated with the opinions and suggestions of the BNP and its simultaneous movement partners. The election manifesto will also be made in the light of these 31 points. Meanwhile, in view of the national elections, various preparations are underway in BNP, including selecting candidates on the instructions of the high command, organizing the party, and bringing in discipline. Sources say that BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman is in a very strict position this time when it comes to selecting candidates. As a result, leaders who were not by the party's side during the difficult times during the previous Awami League government, were inactive in the movement and struggle, or were trying to save their lives or compromise with the ruling party will not be nominated this time. At the same time, those who have engaged in misdeeds after August 5th, prioritizing personal interests, and whose controversial activities have harmed the party, will also not be able to run for elections.
(Translated by Lutful Hoque)
