Yunus sees next general election as 'milestone' for Bangladesh's democracy, vows credibility

ANFREL reaffirms support for citizen-led election monitoring efforts in Bangladesh

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has said Bangladesh will hold a free and fair national election between December and June, marking what he described as a significant step in the country’s democratic journey.

“We aim to make this election the most credible in our history – a historic milestone in our path to democracy,” Yunus said during a meeting with representatives of the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) on Thursday at the State Guest House Jamuna.

A media statement from the Chief Advisor’s Office detailed the discussions that took place.

The ANFREL team included Executive Director Brizza Rosales, May Butoy, advisor to the Bangladesh Election and Democracy Programme, Senior Programme Officer for Advocacy Tharindu Damith Abeyrathna, Programme Officer Ayan Rahman Khan, and Programme Associate Afsana Amy.

ANFREL is a regional civil society network working to advance electoral democracy in Asia. Over the last two decades, the organisation has supported election observation, democratic reforms, and civic participation.

During the meeting, the delegation briefed the chief advisor on their ongoing initiatives in Bangladesh.

They reaffirmed their commitment to rebuilding an independent and citizen-led election observation system and shared plans for stakeholder mapping and needs assessments to strengthen transparency and civil society participation.

The delegation thanked Yunus for the opportunity to meet and pledged continued collaboration with local partners to ensure a transparent and trusted electoral process.