BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday said the announcement of the next parliamentary election in April 2026 has disappointed not only the party but also the entire nation.
He voiced deep frustration over the issue while talking to the media at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka after returning home from Thailand.
Earlier, due to eye and other physical complications, Fakhrul accompanied by his wife Rahat Ara Begum left for Bangkok on 13 May.
“The BNP has consistently expressed its desire for an early election. We hoped that [Chief Adviser] Dr Muhammad Yunus would announce the election date by December. But undoubtedly, not just the BNP – the entire nation has been frustrated by the announcement of polls in April,” he said.
On Friday evening, the chief adviser announced that the next national election would be held on any day in the first half of April 2026.
“Based on this announcement, the Election Commission will provide a detailed roadmap for the elections at an appropriate time,” he said in a televised address to the nation on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha.
“I have repeatedly said that this election will be held between December [this year] and June next year. The government is doing whatever is necessary to create an environment conducive to elections in the country during this period,” he added.
Following the speech of the chief adviser, the BNP held a meeting of its Standing Committee on Friday night. The party’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, joined the meeting virtually from London.
Criticising the chief adviser’s speech, the party leaders reiterated their call for holding the election by December this year.
