DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim government has been unable to fully ensure public safety and holding a general election this year will be difficult, the head of a newly launched political party said.

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted last August in the wake of mass, sometimes violent, student-led protests. The interim government, headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, said this month that elections could be held by the end of 2025 although unrest has continued.

“In the past seven months, we all expected the policing system, law and order to be restored through short-term re­­forms. It has happened to an extent, but not up to our expectations,” said Nahid Islam, the head of Jatiya Nagorik Party or National Citizens’ Party (NCP) and former student leader.

“In the current law and order situation and policing system, I don’t think it is possible to hold a national election,” the 26-year-old said in his first interview as NCP head at his government-provided villa in Dhaka.

Islam, who was until recently an adviser in the interim government, is the first politician of signifi­­cance to cast doubt on Yunus’ timeframe for an election.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2025