Bangladesh polls to be held on time; fugitive Hasina inciting violence: Yunus tells US envoy

Bangladesh's interim government head, Muhammad Yunus, on Monday reiterated his commitment to hold general elections on February 12, despite rising tensions in the country following the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.

“The nation is eagerly waiting to exercise their voting rights, which were stolen by the autocratic regime,” Yunus told US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia, Sergio Gor, during a telephonic conversation.

In a post on X, Yunus’s office said the conversation, which lasted around half an hour, focused on trade and tariff negotiations between Bangladesh and the US, the upcoming election, the country's democratic transition, and the murder of Hadi.

According to the post, Gor, who is also the US Ambassador-designate to India, congratulated Yunus for his leadership during the recent tariff negotiations. The US had reduced reciprocal tariffs on Bangladeshi goods to 20 percent following the discussions.

Yunus also reportedly told the US envoy that supporters of the ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, were attempting to disrupt the electoral process and incite violence.

Hasina has been living in exile in India ever since she was removed from office following massive youth-led agitations in Bangladesh.

"The Chief Adviser noted that supporters of the ousted autocratic regime were allegedly spending millions of dollars to disrupt the electoral process, and that their fugitive leader was inciting violence. However, he said the Interim Government was 'fully prepared' to deal with any challenges," the post on X said.

"We have roughly 50 days to go before the election. We want to hold a free, fair, and peaceful election. We want to make it remarkable," Yunus said.

Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin, National Security Adviser Dr. Khalilur Rahman, and SDG Coordinator and Senior Secretary Lamiya Morshed were present during the call.