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Bangladesh’s interim administration is facing mounting political pressure as rival parties question the impartiality of the cabinet ahead of national elections, the first since the 2024 uprising that ended former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s long rule.
Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and “chief adviser” of the caretaker government, has reportedly taken steps to reassure the nation of a fair process. His press team announced on Thursday that the 85-year-old leader has “taken measures to hold free, impartial, and fair elections”—polls that are currently expected in February 2026.
Despite the assurances, political tensions are soaring over allegations of partisan collaboration within the highest levels of the interim government.
Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), which emerged from the student movement that spearheaded the 2024 revolt, directly accused some cabinet advisers of political maneuvering. Islam alleged that certain advisers were “collaborating with parties to secure their ‘safe exit’ in the future administration” and aiding major political parties in “appointing party loyalists to various administrative posts ahead of the elections.”
Other major political figures made similar allegations.
Front-runners demand action
The growing political crisis was the central topic of a series of high-stakes meetings held by Chief Adviser Yunus. Late Wednesday, he met with leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party.
Senior Jamaat leader Abdullah Muhammad Taher told reporters that they had explicitly warned Yunus that some of his advisers were “working on behalf of a certain political party” and “misleading” the chief adviser. Taher urged Yunus to be aware of the internal partisan activities.
This followed a meeting on October 21 with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), widely seen as a front-runner in the upcoming polls. Following the discussion, senior BNP official Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir publicly stated that he had “requested the government remove any adviser found siding with political parties.” Local media reports suggested the BNP had submitted two specific names to the interim government for removal.
The upcoming elections will mark a watershed moment for the South Asian nation of 170 million, following the student-led revolt that saw Sheikh Hasina flee to New Delhi. Her Awami League party has since been outlawed and barred from participating in the 2026 elections, while Hasina herself remains in India, defying court orders to return to face trial on charges of crimes against humanity related to a deadly crackdown she ordered.
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