CA’s election timeline fails to meet aspirations of people: BNP's Salahuddin

Senior BNP leaders have expressed disappointment at the updated election timeline announced by Chief Adviser Prof Yunus on Friday night, saying the mid-April 2026 deadline “fails to meet people’s aspirations.”

However, the party has not issued an official statement in this regard. Vice Chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu and Standing Committee Member AZM Zahid Hossain declined to make comments and told reporters the issue will be discussed at party forum.

Until Friday night, Prof Yunus repeatedly said the next general election would be held during December 2025-June 2026 period. On Friday, he specified the timeline, saying polls would be held in the first half of April 2026.

In instant reactions, BNP Standing Committee Members Salahuddin Ahmed and Amir Khosru Chowdhury said the deadline fails to meet the expectations of the majority of registered political parties.

More than 50 political parties want elections by December this year, Salahuddin said adding Prof Yunus could have deferred the polls to maximum January.

He also criticised Prof Yunus’s explanation on the issue of Chattogram port handling, saying the interim government head has to hold talks with all political parties before appointing foreign companies for the task.

Amir Khosru Chowdhury even questioned whether any vested group influenced Prof Yunus’s decision making. That would raise further questions over the credibility of the next election process, the BNP leader told a Bangla daily.