Published : 10 Dec 2025, 11:22 PM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 02:52 PM
Local Government Advisor Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain has delivered a 16-month account of his work at a press conference, thanking officials and striking a tone that sounded almost valedictory.
On Wednesday, he again spoke of contesting in the parliamentary elections, yet offered no clarity on whether he had resigned.
Repeatedly, he said the matter would be announced by the Chief Advisor’s Office (CAO).
During a briefing at the Secretariat, he said he had earlier expressed his intention to run but had not settled on a constituency.
Asked when a resignation announcement might come, Asif said the decision was not within his authority. He added that although the law did not bar him from running for election while in office, doing so would not be appropriate.
The AMM Nasir Uddin-led Election Commission is set to announce the schedule for the parliamentary election and referendum on Thursday.
Under existing rules, anyone wishing to contest must resign before the schedule is announced. Against this backdrop, a journalist raised the issue of the advisor’s failure to clarify his resignation even 24 hours before the announcement.
In response, Asif said he is still within a system, and it must be followed. Therefore, from that perspective, he cannot say anything about the matter at this time.
The advisor did not clarify whether he would resign and join the National Citizen Party (NCP), the party of his political associates.
"It is not ambiguous; there is genuinely no decision on this matter. During the mass uprising, I was involved with the current NCP activists. But it would not be correct to assume that I am joining the NCP. I hope everything will become clear within the next few days," he said.
Asif was sworn in as the advisor to the Ministry of Youth and Sports as a representative of the student community in the interim government formed on Aug 8, 2024, after the Awami League-led government was overthrown.
Later, the student leader who was at the frontline of the July protests, was also given the responsibility of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.
The advisor first expressed his intention to participate in the election about a month ago.
At a briefing in Dhanmondi on Nov 9, he said that he intends to contest the election as an "independent" candidate from a constituency in Dhaka.
