Dr Yunus Won’t Allow Smooth Election, Says Analyst M A Aziz

Political analyst and senior journalist M A Aziz has expressed doubts about the likelihood of a smooth election process in Bangladesh, stating that Dr Muhammad Yunus has his own agenda and will not easily permit elections to take place.

Speaking recently on a televised talk show, Aziz said:

“Dr Yunus has a personal agenda. When or whether the election will be held in this country—only Allah knows. Apart from Allah and Dr Yunus, no one else in the world seems to know.”

Aziz also remarked that Dr Yunus rarely speaks directly, instead communicating through his press secretary. However, in this case, even the press secretary refrained from making any clear statement, instead expressing regret and saying that no such discussions (about elections) had taken place. According to Aziz, this implies that no election will occur in February as expected.

He further stated that when the Milestone School incident occurred, four political groups were initially called for discussion. Among them was the Nationalist Citizen Party (NCP), a party Dr Yunus is said to favour, despite lacking official registration or legal standing. Aziz questioned:

“Is the NCP even a legitimate party yet? It has no registration, no official structure.”

He continued by highlighting inconsistencies in the dialogue sessions held by the national consensus groups:

• When the 13-party alliance met, there was no discussion on the election.
• When the 14-party alliance sat, Mostafa Jamal Haider unexpectedly declared that elections would be held in February and the date would be announced within days—despite no formal discussion on the matter.

Quoting Ruhin Hossain Prince, Aziz added:

“Whenever there’s a crisis, they summon us to show unity. But we each view crises differently. We told them: don’t call us anymore. Just hold the election and these so-called crises will vanish.”

Aziz concluded by saying that Dr Yunus responded vaguely, only stating:

“Well, we’ll see.”
This, he believes, reflects an evasive stance and further fuels doubts about the sincerity of election preparations.