Naheed Islam, the leader of the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), which wants national elections only until reforms are complete, says Muhammad Yunus is finding it increasingly difficult to operate without the backing of political parties. According to a well-known student activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh’s acting prime minister, has vowed to resign if political parties are unable to reach an agreement on long-awaited reforms. This is a big change that might make things more unclear in the nation.
Following widespread student-led protests that prompted then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India, Yunus, 84, assumed temporary leadership of the South Asian country in August of last year. Yunus has since pledged comprehensive reforms in a number of sectors. However, his government has struggled due to growing political conflicts and limited development. After meeting Yunus on Thursday, Naheed Islam told reporters that Yunus seemed clearly distressed.” He stated that he might be forced to resign if he is unable to fulfil his duties, which include fixing the system and getting ready for free and fair elections. He feels caught between the public’s mounting impatience and the demands of opposing political factions.
Islam underlined that Yunus needs the backing of the nation’s main political parties in order to lead successfully. “We made it very evident to him that the people did not overthrow a government merely to alter it. They stood up to alter the system. Elections devoid of reforms would only cause our problems to recur. Islam declined to elaborate, but Yunus’s press office has not yet returned calls or mails seeking comment.
Political unpredictability in Bangladesh has only grown as a result of the potential for Yunus to resign, stuck between calls for immediate elections and urgent reform demands. He has said that it may be necessary to postpone national elections until 2026. Meanwhile, pressure from the opposition continues to mount.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, insists that elections must be held by December.”. In the absence of a clear election schedule, BNP leaders stated on Wednesday that it would be “difficult” to continue backing the interim government. In response to Naheed Islam’s comments, senior BNP leader Abdul Moyeen Khan asked Yunus’s office for a formal confirmation, particularly at a time when public trust in the government is at an all-time low:
“The people of Bangladesh sincerely hope that Dr. Yunus will leave with dignity and that their confidence will be upheld by holding free and fair elections as soon as possible.” In a recent speech in Dhaka Cantonment, Bangladesh’s Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman reiterated the demand for elections by December, further increasing the pressure. “He also expressed his frustration with the current political climate.” Zaman told Reuters in September that elections might take place in 18 months.
Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party, however, suffered yet another significant setback to the ruling group when its registration was banned earlier this month, thereby preventing it from running in the upcoming election.