Months after Sheikh Hasina fled country, Bangladesh to hold its first elections in..., Muhammad Yunus says....

Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, has announced that the elections in the country will be held in April 26. This is going to be the first elections in Bangladesh since a massive protest resulted in the collapse of the previous government, which prompted the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country. 

"The Election Commission will provide you with a detailed roadmap for the elections at an appropriate time," said Nobel peace laureate Yunus, who took over as interim head of Bangladesh last August after a student-led protest forced Hasina to flee to India. 

Bangladesh crisis 

In August 2024, Dhaka saw a widespread unrest as a large-scale student protest led to the collapse of Sheikh Hasina-led government. The then Prime Minister fled to India and is currenty on a self-imposed exile. 

The unrest was ignited by demands for reforms in the government's job quota system -- which offered to provide a certain number of jobs to members of certain groups, such as descendants of freedom fighters from the Bangladesh Liberation War 1971. 

Protests intensified across the country, leading to violent clashes between protestors and security forces. Over 300 people were killed in the clashes and over 10,000 arrests were made. Post Sheikh Hasina's exile, an interim government led by noble laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed in Bangladesh. 

The interim government pledged to restore peace, implement judicial and institutional reforms and to hold free and fair elections by June 2026.