Bangladesh's interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, recently met the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is expected to be the frontrunner in elections next year.

Tarique Rahman, who has lived in exile in the United Kingdom for over 15 years, is the acting chairman of the BNP, a major party which his mother, ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, led for decades.

The meeting in the UK capital London was held amid rising tensions in Bangladesh, which has been locked in a tense political limbo since an uprising culminated in former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation in August 2024.

The BNP wanted an election by December 2025, while the interim government had been aiming for April 2026, saying it needs time to implement a host of reforms.

Yunus and Rahman have now agreed that polls could be held in February — if sufficient progress on reforms is made.

These include constitutional reforms, changes to the electoral process and boosting judicial independence and press freedoms.

Authorities also need to deliver justice for the victims of last year's mass protests, in which hundreds were killed, mostly by the security forces loyal to Hasina and her Awami League.

Tasnim Jara, a leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP), newly formed by the student leaders of last year's protests, thinks that while the government has taken initial steps for an election, "institutional readiness remains uneven."

"Key election infrastructure, such as an impartial election........

© Deutsche Welle