CA's statement about elections unclear, frustrating: Mirza Fakhrul

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus' statement about the next elections are unclear and disappointing, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said today (19 December).

Speaking at a press briefing held at the BNP Chairperson's Gulshan Office, he said, "I think there is no problem if the Election Commission takes preparations for conducting elections as they have already been formed. This can be done very quickly.

"We had thought the CA would lay out a specific roadmap with exact dates, which he did not. This has disappointed us and the nation to some extent," Fakhrul said.

Terming the statements of the CA and his Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam as contradictory, Fakhrul said, "The CA has said the next elections will be held in late 2025 or early 2026. On the other hand, his press secretary has said the elections will be held within June 2026. This is contradictory. We can't understand exactly which one is correct."

Replying to a question, Fakhrul added he did not think the timeframe that the CA had given was logical.

"We have talked about the CA's statement in detail at our Standing Committee meeting. The committee believes that although the CA has talked about a possible timeframe for the elections, he has not given any specific roadmap," Fakhrul added.

"The Standing Committee thinks there is no need to delay…Elections can be held quickly through carrying out the related reforms. People expect clear messages from the CA regarding this. The committee thinks the government should determine a specific date for the elections through discussions with political parties and other partners," Fakhrul also said.

BNP's Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed was present at the press briefing.

On 16 December, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said the next general election can be held between the end of 2025 and the first half of 2026 after accomplishing necessary state reforms and a commission will be formed soon to build a national consensus, engaging with political parties.

Mentioning that the chief adviser has outlined a clear roadmap for election, the next day Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said the Election Commission will announce the specific date for polls.

"A very clear roadmap has been given regarding the elections. What could be a clearer roadmap than this? Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus mentioned that the elections could take place between December 2025 or 30 June 2026. The exact date will be determined and announced by the Election Commission," he said.

BNP welcomes HC verdict scrapping part of 15th Amendment

Fakhrul said they appreciated the High Court verdict on the 15th Amendment to the Constitution as the court acknowledged that the next parliament following an election is the only appropriate forum for amending the Constitution.

The Court recognised that the next elected parliament will be the only appropriate forum for amending the Constitution, he added.

When asked whether their party had achieved what it wanted from the court's verdict on the 15th Amendment, the BNP secretary general said they had submitted various proposals as intervenors during the hearing, but he noted that the court did not fully consider their proposals.

Earlier on Tuesday, the High Court scrapped part of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution that had abolished the non-partisan caretaker government system and also issued various observations.

Explaining the High Court verdict, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said the apex court acknowledged that Parliament holds the jurisdiction to amend the Constitution.

He said all the things that truly undermined the basic structure of the Constitution, the principles of democracy, and altered the character of the Constitution were declared unconstitutional and illegal by the court.

Salahuddin said the court also paved the way for reinstating the caretaker government system, recognising it as a fundamental aspect of the Constitution.

He said the verdict also reinstated Article 96, which pertains to the Supreme Judicial Council, as well as the provision on referendums.

Salahuddin said the court annulled some clauses that the Awami League had introduced as political tools.

The BNP leader said the fascist Awami government had declared almost a third of the constitution unamendable, which was nullified by the verdict.

"The Constitution is not such a document that cannot be changed... the court declared those provisions invalid and abolished them. The Supreme Court has the authority to interpret all laws passed by Parliament if they contain unconstitutional elements. The court has left the remaining matters to Parliament, possibly because it may have felt that there are political decisions to be made here," he said.

The BNP leader said the next politically elected parliament will decide on all amendments.

Later, Mirza Fakhrul said all elections, including the local body ones, held under the fascist Sheikh Hasina government were illegal.

He said their party earlier repeatedly called upon the interim government to dissolve all local government bodies. "All were dissolved except for the Union Parishad. We demanded that it should also be cancelled immediately."

In response to a question about whether the BNP wants to put former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque on trial for his involvement in the process of illegally amending the Constitution, the BNP Secretary General said, "When the opportunity comes, he will definitely be brought to justice."