Government ‘fully prepared’ to face any challenge ahead of election, Yunus tells US special envoy

He reiterates Feb 12 election pledge during phone talks with Sergio Gor

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has said the interim government is "fully prepared" to deal with any challenge as it moves towards the general election scheduled for Feb 12.

During a telephone conversation with Sergio Gor, the US special envoy for South and Central Asia, around 7:30pm on Monday, he said: "The nation is eagerly waiting to exercise the right to vote, which was plundered during the autocratic regime."

The discussion, which lasted about half an hour, focused on trade and tariff negotiations between Bangladesh and the United States, the February elections, the country’s democratic transition, and the murder of Inqilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman bin Hadi, according to a statement issued by the Chief Advisor’s Office (CAO).

Gor, who also serves as the US ambassador to India, congratulated the head of the interim government for his leadership during recent tariff negotiations.

Following the talks, Bangladesh succeeded in reducing US reciprocal tariffs on Bangladeshi goods to 20 percent, the statement read.

The US special envoy also discussed the vast outpouring of grief at the funeral of the slain political activist, Hadi.

Yunus 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.

Despite this, Yunus reiterated his government’s commitment to holding the election on time.

“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,” he added.