Bombay Durpun - Bangladesh to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026: Yunus

Pressure has been growing on Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus -- appointed the country's "chief adviser" after the student-led uprising that toppled ex-premier Sheikh Hasina in August -- to set a date.

The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is leading a temporary administration to tackle what he has called the "extremely tough" challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of some 170 million people.

"Election dates could be fixed by the end of 2025 or the first half of 2026," he said in a broadcast on state television.

Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to neighbouring India as thousands of protesters stormed the prime minister's palace in Dhaka.

Her government was also accused of politicising courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections, to dismantle democratic checks on its power.

Hasina's 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.

Yunus has launched commissions to oversee a raft of reforms he says are needed, and setting an election date depends on what political parties agree.

"Throughout, I have emphasised that reforms should take place first before the arrangements for an election," he said.

"If the political parties agree to hold the election on an earlier date with minimum reforms, such as having a flawless voter list, the election could be held by the end of November," he added.

But including the full list of electoral reforms would delay polls by a few months, he said.

W.Atwal--BD