Bangladesh s main opposition warns of instability if elections delayed beyond December

NEW DELHI - Bangladeshs main opposition party has warned of instability and strong resentment within the people if elections are not held by December, after the countrys de facto prime minister said the poll could be delayed until 2026.

An unelected interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has been running the South Asian country of 173 million since August, after deadly student-led protests forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a long-time India ally, to flee to New Delhi.

The countrys two biggest parties, Hasinas Awami League and rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party, had both wanted elections to be held last year, but Yunus said in a speech on Tuesday that a vote could be held between December 2025 and June 2026.

That would give time for reforms to conduct the most free, fair and credible elections in Bangladesh, Yunus said. The opposition and some Western countries alleged widespread rigging in the previous elections by Hasina, which she denied.

Earlier this month, a former ministerial colleague of Yunus, student leader Nahid Islam, said elections this year would be difficult as policing and law and order have not yet been fully restored.

But the opposition BNP wants a return to democracy this year, said Abdul Moyeen Khan, a member of the partys highest decision-making body and a former minister of science and information technology.

We will try to convince them that the best way for them is to call an election as soon as possible and go for an honourable exit, Khan told Reuters in an interview on Saturday, referring to the interim government.

December is a generally agreed-upon schedule. Beyond December would make things more complicated, said Khan, speaking from Washington D.C. where he is seeking meetings with U.S. officials to discuss Bangladesh.

There will be strong resentment within