‘No signature’ on Yunus, Tarique joint declaration on poll time, CEC in doubt

“A declaration has been made, so surely there have been much discussions behind it,” the chief election commissioner says

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has said the joint declaration issued following the meeting between BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus in London is “not official” as it lacks signatures.

Speaking to reporters at the Nirbachan Bhaban, or Election Building, in Dhaka’s Agargaon on Sunday, the first working day after the Eid-ul-Azha break, the CEC said: “Since there are no signatures on it, we cannot consider it an official government document.”

The CEC also clarified that it is currently infeasible to announce a specific election date eight to 10 months ahead of the vote.

In his Eid-ul-Azha address to the nation, the chief advisor had suggested that elections could be held in the first week of April 2026.

Following his meeting with Tarique on Friday, the head of the interim government further indicated that, if sufficient progress is made on reforms and trials, elections could be held before Ramadan begins in February.

After the meeting, National Security Advisor Khalilur Rahman said: “The chief advisor said that he had announced elections would be held by the first half of April next year. But, if all preparations are completed, the elections can be organised in the week before the start of Ramadan in 2026. In that case, it will be necessary to achieve sufficient progress on reforms and trials by that time.”

Responding to a question on the possible election date in light of the declaration, the CEC said: “Now a new dimension has emerged. We have only learned about this declaration made in London through the media, like everyone else.

“The joint declaration is unsigned -- we don’t know how genuine it is. If someone had signed it, we'd understand that it had official endorsement from both the government and the party.”

He added, “Just as history has layers, so do political dialogues. A declaration has been made, surely there were in-depth talks behind it... we need to know those to proceed with decisions.”

Referring to the national security advisor’s remarks, he said: “The (interim) government is holding talks with political parties on reforms. Trials are a matter of the courts, but there’s discussion around expediting the process.”

He continued, “We believe the government will announce a date. But after the London visit, some of that responsibility is now shifting toward us.”

The CEC emphasised that discussion with the government is required to gain clarity on the election date. However, he affirmed that the EC is prepared for either February or April.

“We were initially told elections could be held between December and June 2026, and we've been preparing with that window in mind,” he said.