Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus has said that while critics are urging quick elections, some voices in Bangladesh have expressed support for the interim government by asking him to stay in power for as long as five, ten, or even fifty years.
He made the comment in an interview with British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
A five-minute clip of the conversation was aired on Monday night by Zeteo, Hasan’s media company. Hasan, also known as the host of Al Jazeera’s Head to Head, is widely recognized for challenging global leaders with sharp questions.
During the interview, Mehdi pressed the chief adviser about the delay in holding elections. The interim administration has been in office for a year, and elections were originally planned for a later date but have been brought forward to February, partly due to Ramadan. Critics argue that an 18-month timeline is excessive, especially when compared to Nepal, where the interim leader promised elections within six months.
Dr Yunus responded by explaining that public opinion is divided. While one section of the population demands faster elections, another believes stability and clean governance should take priority over rushing to the polls. Supporters of the latter view argue that prolonged interim governance could prevent the country from returning to past cycles of corruption and instability.
He outlined that the interim government has three primary responsibilities: reform, justice, and elections. According to him, these tasks must be completed in sequence to ensure lasting change. Without reform, elections alone would reproduce the same problems, as the laws, systems, and structures would remain unchanged. The administration is therefore focused on dismantling what he described as the roots of authoritarianism and creating a new structure to prevent the recurrence of past governance failures.
While acknowledging that interim governments are expected to be limited to essential functions, Dr Yunus stressed that the current administration was entrusted with a broader mandate. He maintained that the government would complete its three tasks before making way for an elected administration- reform, justice, and elections.
