The stage is being set for Bangladesh’s much-anticipated February election — and Professor Muhammad Yunus’s interim government is being molded into a single-purpose machine: to deliver a free, fair, and credible vote. Nothing more. Nothing less.Officials close to the Chief Adviser’s Office confirm that this government will avoid all major policy decisions. Its mandate is crystal clear: ensure the election is held smoothly, transparently, and without interference. “This is why the government has been accepted — to oversee only the February polls,” one insider said under the condition of anonymity.
Already, the outlines of this streamlined authority are visible. Two young advisers — Asif Sajib Bhuiyan, responsible for Local Government, and Mahfuz Alam, responsible for Information — are set to resign. They will join the party they themselves helped to form, the National Consensus Party (NCP), and prepare for the coming electoral contest.
Preparations within the Chief Adviser’s Office are already underway. Once Professor Yunus returns from the UN General Assembly in New York, the election-time administration will begin its formal work.
Notably, constitutional expert Tofail Ahmed is expected to join the advisory council, giving the body stronger legal grounding. At the same time, the bloated tradition of “special assistants” and “shadow advisers” is being scrapped. “The council’s clout will be reduced deliberately,” said a senior official, signaling an end to the old politics of patronage and invisible influence.
The strategy is simple: fewer advisers, no personal entourages, no unofficial power brokers. The interim authority will lean on the existing cadre of advisers and government machinery, resisting pressure to expand or politicize its ranks.
Most critically, the Election Commission is being empowered as the sovereign body of the transition. By design, it will wield supreme authority before the polls, while the advisory council will stand back. “There will be no interference. Once strengthened, the Commission itself will oversee everything,” the official emphasized.
This radical narrowing of purpose marks a decisive break from previous caretaker-style regimes that overstepped their mandate. Yunus’s administration insists it will not repeat those mistakes. Instead, it has placed all bets on one outcome: a national election in February that restores legitimacy to Bangladesh’s political order.
The question that lingers is whether such a minimalist approach will withstand the pressures of politics in Dhaka — or whether forces on all sides will demand more from a government sworn to do less.
An interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus was formed on 8 August 2024, following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024, amid nationwide student and public protests against her government. With the dissolution of the 12th Jatiya Sangsad on 6 August 2024, the interim cabinet assumed office to manage state affairs until a new Prime Minister is appointed after a snap general election.
Like previous non-caretaker interim administrations in 1975 and 1990, the Yunus-led government is extra-constitutional. However, on 9 August 2024, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh affirmed its legality, citing the doctrine of necessity to address the constitutional vacuum and ensure continuity of governance.
The main pledge of the Yunus administration is to build consensus and implement fundamental reforms needed to hold a free and fair national election by June 2026.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to Yunus and his council of advisers at Bangabhaban on 8 August 2024. The interim cabinet currently consists of 1 Chief Adviser, 22 Advisers, 7 Special Positions under the Chief Adviser’s Office, and 5 Special Assistants to the Chief Adviser under the rank of Minister of State. The Jamuna State Guest House has been designated as the official residence of the Chief Adviser.
Already, the outlines of this streamlined authority are visible. Two young advisers — Asif Sajib Bhuiyan, responsible for Local Government, and Mahfuz Alam, responsible for Information — are set to resign. They will join the party they themselves helped to form, the National Consensus Party (NCP), and prepare for the coming electoral contest.
Preparations within the Chief Adviser’s Office are already underway. Once Professor Yunus returns from the UN General Assembly in New York, the election-time administration will begin its formal work.
Notably, constitutional expert Tofail Ahmed is expected to join the advisory council, giving the body stronger legal grounding. At the same time, the bloated tradition of “special assistants” and “shadow advisers” is being scrapped. “The council’s clout will be reduced deliberately,” said a senior official, signaling an end to the old politics of patronage and invisible influence.
The strategy is simple: fewer advisers, no personal entourages, no unofficial power brokers. The interim authority will lean on the existing cadre of advisers and government machinery, resisting pressure to expand or politicize its ranks.
Most critically, the Election Commission is being empowered as the sovereign body of the transition. By design, it will wield supreme authority before the polls, while the advisory council will stand back. “There will be no interference. Once strengthened, the Commission itself will oversee everything,” the official emphasized.
This radical narrowing of purpose marks a decisive break from previous caretaker-style regimes that overstepped their mandate. Yunus’s administration insists it will not repeat those mistakes. Instead, it has placed all bets on one outcome: a national election in February that restores legitimacy to Bangladesh’s political order.
The question that lingers is whether such a minimalist approach will withstand the pressures of politics in Dhaka — or whether forces on all sides will demand more from a government sworn to do less.
An interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus was formed on 8 August 2024, following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024, amid nationwide student and public protests against her government. With the dissolution of the 12th Jatiya Sangsad on 6 August 2024, the interim cabinet assumed office to manage state affairs until a new Prime Minister is appointed after a snap general election.
Like previous non-caretaker interim administrations in 1975 and 1990, the Yunus-led government is extra-constitutional. However, on 9 August 2024, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh affirmed its legality, citing the doctrine of necessity to address the constitutional vacuum and ensure continuity of governance.
The main pledge of the Yunus administration is to build consensus and implement fundamental reforms needed to hold a free and fair national election by June 2026.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to Yunus and his council of advisers at Bangabhaban on 8 August 2024. The interim cabinet currently consists of 1 Chief Adviser, 22 Advisers, 7 Special Positions under the Chief Adviser’s Office, and 5 Special Assistants to the Chief Adviser under the rank of Minister of State. The Jamuna State Guest House has been designated as the official residence of the Chief Adviser.