Dhaka [Bangladesh], January 8 : Former Deputy High Commissioner for Bangladesh to India, Mashfee Binte Shams, said the next general elections can be held when the situation in the country is "conducive".
Chief Advisor to interim Bangladesh government, Muhammad Yunus had said that elections will take place in Bangladesh when the situation is conducive.
Shams toldthat India and Bangladesh should look at long-term relationship, which has strong foundation since Bangladesh's independence.
"We need to take a longer term perspective of the relationship because I was working in India like 22 years ago when also we had a difficult relationship with India. The relationship was quite tense at that time. Then if you think of the post-1975, government that came at that time relationship with India was quite tense. So I think we need to take a longer time long-term view and think that relationship, the gaps of understanding the tense situation as we like to call it," Shams said.
"This can only be resolved through greater dialogue, greater discussions, more open discussions, trying to understand each other's views, what's making Bangladesh behave as it is behaving now, what is making India react to Bangladesh's behaviour as it is doing now and discussion that we will be able to reduce this gap. And I don't mean only discussion between the government agencies or the government sector, but also the general public, the other stakeholders, think tanks, academics. Everybody should be having a healthy discussion, not accusing each other, but having a healthy, constructive engagement," she added.
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus recently announced that Bangladesh's next general elections could be held in late 2025 or the first half of 2026.
Reflecting on it, Shams further said that the elections will take place keeping in mind the readiness of the people and overall environment.
"The Chief Advisor had said that elections would take place when the conditions are ready and everybody is ready for the elections. And when the, situation is conducive to holding of elections that's when the elections will take place," she said.
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