Bangladesh will hold a national referendum on implementing its 'July Charter' for state reform, drafted after last year's deadly student-led uprising, Muhammad Yunus, the head of the country's interim government, said on Thursday.
He also reiterated that parliamentary elections will be held in February and that they would be free and fair.
The interim government approved the July National Charter (Constitution Reform) Implementation Order 2025 on Thursday and it will be implemented depending on the outcome of the referendum.
"We have decided that the referendum will be held on the same day as the national parliamentary election — meaning, in the first half of February," Nobel laureate Yunus said in a televised address to the nation.
"This will not hinder the reform process. Rather, it will make the election more festive and cost-efficient," he said.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus, 85, is leading the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections, and had earlier said he will step down after the vote.
“We will step into the final and most important phase after delivering this speech to you, and that is the transfer of power to an elected government”, he said.
Yunus had earlier said elections would be held in April, but key political parties have been demanding he hold them earlier, and before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people.
“I urge you all to pray for us so that we can hold a fair and smooth election, enabling all citizens to move forward successfully in building a ‘New Bangladesh’”, he added.
“On behalf of the government, we will extend all necessary support to ensure that the election is free, peaceful and celebratory in spirit.”
The July Charter seeks to reshape the country's politics and institutions and give constitutional recognition to the 2024 uprising that forced Sheikh Hasina, a long-time prime minister, to flee to India.
A majority of political parties had signed the charter in October but the National Citizens Party, formed by the leaders of last year's movement and four left-leaning parties, had boycotted it.
The NCP said it stayed away due to the lack of a legal framework or binding guarantee for implementing the commitments made in the charter.
Supporters see the charter as a foundation for institutional reform. Critics say its impact could be largely symbolic without a legal framework or parliamentary consensus.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) announced it would deliver the verdict against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina on November 17 after her trial in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity.
The tribunal on October 23 concluded the hearing on the case after over 28 working days, when 54 witnesses testified before the court describing how efforts were made to tame last year’s student-led movement called July Uprising that toppled Hasina’s now disbanded Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
Sheikh Hasina, who had been in power for 15 years, fled to India in August last year following mass protests. Her party, the Awami League, has since been banned by the interim administration, and its registration has been revoked by the Election Commission, effectively barring it from contesting in future polls unless the ban is lifted.
The Bangladesh capital woke up to a heightened security vigil over the “Dhaka lockdown” call by the Awami League, coinciding with a tribunal’s announcement of the verdict date.
Authorities called up army troops, paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police in riot gear to spread a security blanket in and around the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) complex at central Dhaka.
The security vigil amid the Awami League called “lockdown” prompted thousands to stay indoors.