The Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus–led interim government marks its first anniversary on Friday, having assumed office on 8 August 2024, following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's autocratic regime on 5 August in a massive popular uprising that left a large number of students and civilians dead or injured.
As per the aspirations of the July martyrs, the government took various steps to bring positive changes in all sectors, including the areas of electoral system, governance, press freedom, economy, judiciary, and improve law and order and trial of the killers of the students and people in the mass uprising.
Meanwhile, commemorating the Mass Uprising Day on 5 August, the interim government presented the July Declaration to the nation on that day.
The works of preparation for the July Charter are also at the final stage following the rounds of discussions with political parties with the National Consensus Commission.
On Tuesday (5 August), Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced that the next parliamentary elections will be held in February 2026.
"On behalf of the interim government, I will send a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner asking the Election Commission to arrange the national elections in February 2026, before the next Ramadan," he said while delivering his televised address before the nation, marking the July Uprising Day.
On Wednesday (August 6), the Chief Adviser's Office sent a letter to the EC asking it to complete all preparations to hold the national elections before the start of Ramadan in February 2026.
Through this letter, the formalities of the government's request to the EC to organise the polls have been completed, said a press release issued by the Chief Adviser's Press Wing.
The government has formed a number of reform commissions, including the Electoral Reform Commission, Police Reform Commission, Judiciary Reform Commission, Anti-Corruption Reform Commission, Public Administration Reform Commission, Health Reform Commission, Mass Media Reform Commission, Labour Rights Reform Commission and Women Affairs Reform Commission.
The commissions submitted their reports, and the government also took many steps as per the recommendations of the commissions.
Due to various initiatives of the government, this June, the country's overall inflation decreased to 8.48%, which is the lowest in the last 35 months.
In his address to the nation, Muhammad Yunus hoped that food inflation would come down to 6% by December, saying controlling inflation was the biggest challenge for his interim government.
He said that immediately after the interim government took office, the terrible flood situation that occurred in the southern and northern parts of the country caused massive damage to crop production.
"As a result, there was a fear of an increase in the prices of daily necessities. However, this was avoided due to appropriate steps taken by the concerned institutions and authorities, monitoring and reducing the dominance of middlemen. Especially, the market situation has been stable since the holy month of Ramadan this year," he added.
As a result of the immense trust of the expatriate Bangladeshis in the current interim government, stability has also returned to the forex market, said the chief adviser.
Last fiscal year, a record $3033 crore remittance came into the country through banking channels, while export earnings grew by about 9%.
As a result, the taka has gained strength, he said, adding that after many years, the value of the taka is increasing against the dollar.
"In the last 11 months, $4 billion has been paid to foreign lenders as interest and principal, which is the highest ever, adding that even after paying off previous outstanding liabilities, foreign exchange reserves are increasing."
Comments