Dhaka, May 23 – Bangladesh’s Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman on Wednesday urged for elections to be held by the end of this year, emphasizing that political stability can only be achieved through an elected government and not by unelected decision-makers.
Speaking at an officers’ address in Dhaka, General Zaman expressed criticism of the current interim government, led by Nobel laureate economist Mohammad Yunus as chief advisor, particularly over recent decisions including the approval of Elon Musk’s Starlink and the proposed Chittagong-Rakhine corridor linking Bangladesh to Myanmar.
“There will be no corridor. The sovereignty of Bangladesh is not negotiable,” General Zaman said, describing the corridor plan as “risky and sensitive” and warning it could embroil Bangladesh in Myanmar’s ongoing conflicts. He stressed that such decisions should be made only by a democratically elected government.
The interim government was installed after the popular uprising last year that ousted the long-standing administration of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had been in power for 15 years. Demonstrations began with student protests last July, spreading nationwide and culminating in Hasina’s exile to India.
General Zaman also voiced dissatisfaction with the army’s current role in policing, calling for troops to return to their barracks after elections. He noted that the army’s primary responsibility is national defense, not internal law enforcement.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has accused the Yunus administration of deliberately delaying elections, with BNP general secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleging infiltration of the administration to divert the country’s direction.
When contacted, Mohammad Yunus’s office declined to comment directly on the army chief’s remarks. As Bangladesh navigates political uncertainty, calls for timely elections are mounting amid concerns over governance and national sovereignty.
