Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Saturday assured British parliamentarian Rupa Huq that the next general election in Bangladesh would be completely free and fair.

Prof Yunus told her that there are two possible timelines for the next general election: December 2025 or mid-2026.

“The election date depends on how much reform people want,” he said.

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Huq expressed her willingness to return to Bangladesh to observe the next general election.

“People could not vote in the last three elections. There was a fake parliament; fake MPs and a fake speaker,” Prof Yunus told Huq as she met him at the state guest house Jamuna.

The whole country has now got their voices back; their voice was taken away forcibly, he said.

Huq enquired about the tentative date for the next general election, the reform initiatives undertaken by the Interim Government of Bangladesh, and the participation process of political parties. “I am really encouraged by seeing Bangladesh: 2,” said Huq.

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Prof Yunus explained to Huq what led to the July mass uprising and the repression of the people during the regime of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

James Goldman, deputy high commissioner and development director of the British High Commission Dhaka, was also present on the occasion.

Earlier, Huq was part of a UK business delegation that held a meeting with Special Envoy to Chief Advisor Lutfey Siddiqi, BIDA Chairman Ashik Mahmud Chowdhury, and Senior Secretary for SDG Affairs Lamiya Morshed over trade and investment in Bangladesh.

A delegation from UKBCCI is currently on a three-day visit to Bangladesh.

UKBCCI Chairman Iqbal Ahmed OBE and UKBCCI President M G Moula Mia are leading the delegation.

Siddiqi invited British businesspeople, including the people of Bangladesh origin, to invest in the country, saying the Interim Government has undertaken sweeping reforms to attract foreign direct investment.