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Political parties on Tuesday hailed chief adviser Muhammad Yunus as he announced his government’s plan of holding national election by June 2026.

Depending on the extent of reforms the people want, the election could also be held at the end of 2025, he said on Monday while addressing the nation marking the 54th Victory Day.

His announcement came amid demands from political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party for an election roadmap.

Welcoming the chief adviser’s election timeframe, political parties urged the interim government to hold the election as soon as possible after executing necessary reforms, stating that the election could be held earlier.

Mentioning that he repeatedly said that he would hold the polls after completing all the major reforms, Yunus said, ‘If, due to a political consensus, we have to hold the election on the basis of a flawless preparation of the voter list with minor reforms, it may be possible to hold the election by the end of 2025.’

‘If we add to this the expected level of reforms in the electoral process and following the recommendations of the Election Reform Commission and based on  the national consensus, it may take at least additional six months,’ he said.

‘The Election Commission has been formed and the EC has taken charge and they have started making their preparations,’ he said, highlighting the works before holding the polls.

The chief adviser said that the biggest task was to update the voter list.

‘This is a difficult task. Now the task has become even more difficult as the voters did not have the opportunity to participate in the past three elections.’

‘The names of all those who have become eligible to vote in the last 15 years must be included in the voter list. This is a big task. After the student-people uprising, there is no scope for mistakes there,’ he said.

‘If we want to further improve the election process and implement the recommendations of the Election Reform Commission, then the Election Commission must be given time according to the range and depth of the necessary reforms,’ he said.

‘We are moving towards establishing a National Consensus Building Commission with the chairmen of the six commissions the interim government has formed recently,’ he said.

The six commissions were formed to suggest recommendations for reforms in the areas of election system, police administration, judiciary, anti-corruption commission, public administration and constitution.

Yunus said that the task of the new commission would be to identify all the issues on which consensus could be established by exchanging views with all stakeholders, including political parties, and to provide recommendations for implementation of these issues.

‘Since establishing a national consensus is a very important responsibility of the interim government, I will serve as the chairman of the commission and professor Ali Riaz will serve as the vice-chairman of this commission,’ he said.

The chief adviser hoped that the National Consensus Building Commission would be able to start working the next month after receiving the final reports from the six commissions.

The first task of this new commission will be to quickly create consensus on all the issues that are necessary for holding the general elections and to finalise the advice on when elections can be held after holding discussions with all stakeholders, he added.

Chief adviser’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam on Tuesday also said that the next national election would be held by June 30, 2026.

‘The chief adviser has declared a clear roadmap from which it is evident that the election will be held by June 30, 2026,’ he said while briefing reporters at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital Dhaka.

BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that the chief adviser in his address to the nation told about the probable time of the election.

‘But we think holding the polls before the indicated time is possible if the government and Election Commission are cordial.’

‘As the chief adviser said about the possibility of an election by December, we think the national election should be held by December 2025, and it is possible if they are cordial,’ he said.

He also said, ‘Following the High Court verdict on the 15th amendment on Tuesday, holding a free, fair, and impartial election becomes easier for the interim government by next December 2025 or before that time.’

Communist Party of Bangladesh president Shah Alam said that the people were in the dark about the election time, but now the ambiguity was removed following the chief adviser’s speech regarding the polls.

‘However, there is no specific date; we think the election should be held as soon as possible after completing most necessary reforms,’ he said.

Welcoming the chief adviser’s statement on the election timeframe, Revolutionary Workers Party general secretary Saiful Haque said that the chief adviser should announce a specific time for the election.

‘If there is a clear message about the election, the gap between the government and the political parties would remove while confidence of the political parties and the people will increase in the government,’ he said.

Socialist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Bazlur Rashid Firoz said, ‘The country’s people could not exercise their voting rights in the past three elections under the fascist Awami League government. The interim government’s one of the key tasks is restoring the voting rights of the people.’

He, however, said that there should be a specific announcement of the government on reforms and the election time that would remove uncertainties among the political parties as well as the people of the country.

He also said the government should start the election process soon to stabilise law and order situation.