Bangladesh’s interim government Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has announced that the country’s next national parliamentary election and a nationwide referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order 2025 will be held on the same day, in the first half of February next year.
In a televised address to the nation today, Prof. Yunus said the move was aimed at making the electoral process more participatory, festive, and cost-effective. He emphasised that holding the referendum alongside the parliamentary election would not hinder the reform process, but rather help accelerate the country’s transition toward a new constitutional framework.
The referendum will pose a single question divided into four parts, seeking voters’ approval to implement the key reform proposals outlined in the July Charter. Prof. Yunus added that the Implementation Order had already been approved and was ready for gazette notification, marking the beginning of the next phase of national reform.
However, the announcement has drawn sharp political reactions from major political parties. The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami criticised the decision, saying it “failed to fulfil the aspirations of the people” and could “trigger a new political crisis.” In a statement, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said the chief adviser’s decision had “ignored the people’s demand.”
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed accused Prof. Yunus of “violating the July Charter” by going beyond the scope of earlier political consensus. He claimed that the chief adviser’s plan to form a “Constitution Reform Council” by elected lawmakers had not been discussed during the nine-month-long dialogue process among political parties.
The BNP’s Standing Committee has called an emergency meeting at the party chairperson’s office in Gulshan area, Dhaka, this evening to discuss Prof. Yunus’s address and the government’s roadmap for implementing the July Charter.
