Bangladesh units February 2026 for historic basic election, as Muhammad Yunus unveils sweeping reform agenda on rebellion anniversary, pledging inclusive democracy and youth-driven political renewal.

Bangladesh’s interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has introduced that the nation’s subsequent basic election will probably be held in February 2026, marking a big milestone within the transition from the July 2024 student-led rebellion that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

In a nationally broadcast deal with on Tuesday, aired by way of state-run BTV and nationwide radio, Yunus addressed the individuals to commemorate the primary anniversary of the favored rebellion that reshaped the nation’s political future. His speech was additionally accompanied by the formal adoption of a sweeping political constitution often called the “July Declaration,” signalling a transparent departure from the constitutional and political legacy of the Hasina regime.

“On behalf of the interim authorities, I’ll write to the Chief Election Commissioner, requesting that the Election Fee organise a nationwide election in February 2026, earlier than the following Ramadan,” Yunus mentioned in his deal with. He added that the nation would start each “psychological preparation and institutional preparations” to make sure the upcoming polls are historic for his or her sense of “pleasure and celebration, peace and order, voter turnout, and cordiality.”

Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist, referred to as on political events to centre their manifestos on the aspirations of the youth and ladies, crediting them because the true brokers of change. “The youth who’ve modified Bangladesh have the facility to vary the world as nicely,” he mentioned, urging inclusive politics going ahead.

The interim authorities additionally used the anniversary to formally unveil the July Declaration, a 26-point doc that outlines a brand new imaginative and prescient for Bangladesh’s political and constitutional future. The declaration was drafted following consultations with a number of political events that had supported the anti-Hasina motion, together with the Bangladesh Nationalist Social gathering (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and the newly shaped Nationwide Citizen Social gathering (NCP).

Prime leaders from these events stood with Yunus at Dhaka’s South Plaza of the Nationwide Parliament Advanced as he learn out the declaration to an enormous crowd. Hundreds had gathered at Manik Mia Avenue, bordering the Parliament premises, to mark the day with celebrations and remembrance.

The July Declaration was sharply essential of Bangladesh’s 1972 structure and Hasina’s decade-long rule, accusing each of failing the individuals. It pledged to amend the structure to align with the spirit of the 2024 student-led rebellion.

“Whereas, the post-independence Awami League authorities did not materialise the individuals’s aspirations due to the weaknesses within the procedures of drafting and within the construction of the structure…,” the declaration acknowledged.

It additional added: “Through the rule of Sheikh Hasina, beneath her very management, an excessive pressure that was anti-people, autocratic and towards human rights turned Bangladesh right into a fascist, mafia and failed state and thereby tarnished Bangladesh’s worldwide picture.”

The doc demanded that the rebellion be granted official constitutional recognition and that the July Declaration type a part of a reformed structure to be adopted by the following elected authorities.

Tuesday’s commemorative occasions happened beneath tight safety. Authorities arrange checkpoints throughout Dhaka, with police and safety forces monitoring crowds amid issues over political pressure. Whereas the day was declared a nationwide vacation by the interim authorities, the underlying tone of the anniversary was complicated — each celebratory and cautious.

One 12 months on, nevertheless, issues stay concerning the tempo of reforms beneath Yunus’s administration. Worldwide watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a essential assertion on the anniversary, expressing disappointment on the authorities’s human rights document since Hasina’s fall.

“The hope of the 1000’s who braved deadly violence a 12 months in the past after they opposed Sheikh Hasina’s abusive rule to construct a rights-respecting democracy stays unfulfilled,” mentioned Meenakshi Ganguly, HRW’s deputy Asia director. “The interim authorities seems caught, juggling an unreformed safety sector, generally violent spiritual hardliners, and political teams that appear extra centered on extracting vengeance on Hasina’s supporters than defending Bangladeshis’ rights.”

The stress between optimism and unfinished reform was additionally evident within the streets. Regardless of the celebrations, a heavy safety presence served as a reminder of the fragility of the present peace.

In the meantime, the Awami League, now banned, has declared August a month of mourning in reminiscence of the assassination of independence chief Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — Sheikh Hasina’s father — on August 15, 1975. Social gathering sympathisers proceed to quietly mark the event amid ongoing political uncertainty.

Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India following final 12 months’s rebellion, has remained silent publicly, although some studies counsel her loyalists are regrouping overseas. The July rebellion — referred to by supporters because the “July Revolution” — continues to polarise Bangladesh, with some hailing it as a second liberation, whereas others warn of harmful political retribution.