Bangladesh to hold elections in April next year: Yunus

Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh, Dr. Muhammad Yunus on Friday announced that the country’s next national elections will be held in the first half of April next year. Delivering a televised address to the nation on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha, Dr. Yunus said the Election Commission will provide a detailed roadmap for the elections at an appropriate time. The chief adviser added that the government is taking all necessary measures to ensure a favorable environment for the polls. During his address, Dr. Yunus also said propaganda is being spread that Bangladesh has provided a corridor for Rakhine State, which is a complete lie. 
Political parties jostling for power have been repeatedly demanding Yunus fix an election timetable, while he has said time is needed as the country requires an overhaul of its democratic institutions after Hasina’s tenure.“It should be remembered that Bangladesh has plunged into deep crisis every time it has held a flawed election,” he said. “A political party usurped power through such elections in the past, and became a barbaric fascist force.”“Those who organise such elections are later viewed as culprits, and those who assume office through them become targets of public hatred,” Yunus said.
“One of the biggest responsibilities of this government is to ensure a transparent and widely participatory election so that the country does not fall into a new phase of crisis,” he added. “That is why institutional reform is of utmost importance.” Yunus also said n his address that the government wants to conduct an election that would satisfy the martyrs of the uprising, referring to the lives lost during the violent protests that ultimately led to former PM Sheikh Hasina's ouster last year. He also asked citizens to urge political parties to  promise that they will "never compromise on the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity of Bangladesh and will not sell the country's interests to any foreign power."