Bangladesh’s interim leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus announced Tuesday that the country’s parliamentary elections will be held in February.
In a televised address to the nation, Yunus said he would request the Election Commission to organize the election in February 2025. He spoke as the nation marked the first anniversary of the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina has been in exile since Aug. 5 last year as she fled the country amid a student-led mass uprising, ending her 15-year rule.
The Election Commission will set a specific date for the election.
Yunus had earlier said that the election would be held in April, but major political parties, mainly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and its allies demanded that the election be held in February.
The Yunus-led administration has banned Hasina’s Awami League party, and the Election Commission has canceled its registration with it. It means Hasina’s party cannot contest unless the ban is lifted.
