Army chief merely expressed his opinion on election timing: Chief adviser’s press secretary

The timing of the election will depend on the report of the reforms commissions and the political discussions surrounding it. After that, the timing of the election will be determined.

Chief adviser's press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, made this statement in response to questions from various media outlets during a press conference organised at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Monday evening.

The press conference also discussed an interview given by army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman to Reuters. Regarding this, the press secretary said, “Read the Reuters report carefully... There is nothing like that in the English report, in quote. In the sixth paragraph of the report, it says, 'following the reforms,' and then it mentions about 18 months. The people of Bangladesh will decide whether it will be 16 months, 18 months, 12 months, or six months.”

The press secretary added, "When will the election take place? It cannot be determined now whether it will happen in 16 months, 12 months, or eight months. The army chief was merely expressing an opinion."

This press conference was primarily organised to discuss chief adviser Muhammad Yunus’ visit to the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

His press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, described the visit as very successful and historic.

He also stated that the advisory council of the interim government will consult with political parties before the six reform commissions, formed by the government, begin their full operations. This discussion will take place very soon.

In his address to the nation on 11 September, chief adviser Muhammad Yunus announced the formation of six commissions to carry out reforms in the electoral system, police, judiciary, public administration, constitution, and anti-corruption office.

Badiul Alam Majumdar will head the electoral system reform commission, Sarfraz Chowdhury will head the police administration reform commission, justice Shah Abu Naeem Mominur Rahman will lead the judiciary reform commission, TIB’s Iftekharuzzaman will lead the anti-corruption reform commission and former secretary Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury will lead the public administration reform commission.

Initially, prominent lawyer Shahdeen Malik was named as the head of the constitution reform commission, but this was later changed, and professor Ali Riaz was given the responsibility.

According to the announcement of the interim government, the commissions were supposed to start their work from Tuesday. However, to date, the notification regarding the formation of the six reform commissions has not been issued. The government has requested that once their work is completed, the commissions submit their reports by 13 December.

In response to questions from journalists at Monday’s press conference about the progress of the commissions, the chief adviser’s press secretary said that the work of the commissions is scheduled to begin Tuesday. However, before making a final decision, the advisory council wants to hold another round of discussions with the country’s political parties.

He mentioned that although the names of the heads of the commissions have been announced, the commissions have already begun preliminary work to some extent. Since political parties are key stakeholders, the council plans to consult them and seek their opinions before proceeding.

In response to another question, press secretary Shafiqul Alam said, "I can say this much: the discussions will take place very soon. After the discussion, you will see that the commission's work has officially begun."

Chief adviser’s deputy press secretaries Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumder and Apurba Jahangir were also present at the press briefing.