February polls a chance for truly representative parliament: Fakhrul

The national election scheduled for February 2026 can lead to the formation of a truly representative parliament that will discuss and resolve people's unsettled issues and set a clear roadmap for the nation's future, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said today (13 November).

"The main point is that this parliament will be able to discuss and resolve the people's unresolved issues and set out a clear roadmap for the country's progress within a specific timeframe," he said.

Speaking at a dialogue on the election, the BNP leader said the interim government has already announced that the election will be held in February 2026 to elect a parliament representing the people.

"I want to emphasise that there will be disagreements and not everyone will agree on everything. The chief adviser's address may seem acceptable to many, but differences of opinion can still exist," he said.

The Foundation of Strategic and Development Studies arranged the dialogue titled "National Parliamentary Election 2026: The Necessity for National Unity" at a city hotel.

Fakhrul said since people are the true owners of the state, their representatives in parliament must guide the way forward.

"But if we fail to elect that parliament and instead a few individuals or intellectuals try to impose their views, we must consider how acceptable that will be to the people."

Fakhrul spoke about Bangladesh's long struggle for democracy, recalling that the nation has paid heavily for democracy but has rarely had the opportunity to practise it properly.

"Since the Pakistan period, democracy here has been repeatedly disrupted and weakened…democracy has never truly been practised in this country, and that is why today we see so much mistrust, anxiety and instability in our society," he said.

The BNP leader paid tribute to those martyred in the July Uprising who sacrificed their lives. "We are grateful to the martyrs who have given us a chance to give democracy an institutional form."

He said it is now necessary to build democratic institutions to overcome the political crisis. "I believe our main responsibility, wherever we are and in whatever capacity, is to fulfil our duty by working to institutionalise democracy."

Fakhrul said the sooner the nation can form an elected government through an election, the better it will be for the country, marking the start of the democratic journey forward.

"I don't see any reason for despair… I'm not depressed at all. In fact, I believe that since there is so much discussion and debate about democracy now, a fresh breeze of hope is emerging — a new fragrance that will pave the way for a new democratic order in Bangladesh," he said.

The BNP leader warned that the proportional representation (PR) system is still not widely understood by ordinary people.

"You cannot simply push complex systems on people who are not prepared for them… The PR is still not understandable to the public. I've made that clear again today. We must make an effort to make it understandable — we have to explain it to the people and prepare them for the system."

He also said BNP has long aimed to unite the forces that fought against fascism, reports UNB.

The BNP leader reiterated that they have clearly proposed forming a national government after the election with those political parties and groups that joined them in the anti-fascist movement.

Fakhrul said this demonstrates their genuine intention to unite the nation on fundamental issues and move forward together.

"I believe if we all understand and realise this, we will surely be able to move ahead successfully. I want to repeat again that election is the only option to return to a democratic path," he added.