Amid the growing expectation for an election roadmap, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday said the next national election can be arranged at a time between the end of 2025 and first half of 2026.

"Broadly speaking, the election can be scheduled between the end of 2025 and the first half of 2026," he said in a televised speech to the nation in the morning.

Dr Yunus said he has repeatedly appealed to all to hold the polls after completing all the major reforms.

"However, if, and I repeat, "if", due to political consensus, we have to hold the election on the basis of a flawless preparation of the voter list with minor reforms, then it may be possible to hold the elections by the end of 2025," he said.

"And if we add to this the expected level of reforms in the electoral process and in light of the recommendations of the Election Reforms Commission and based on the national consensus, then it may take at least another six months," said the Chief Adviser.

Dr Yunus said the Election Commission has been formed with the Chief Election Commissioner and the EC has taken charge.

"From now on, the responsibility has been entrusted to them to start the process of forming the future government. They have started their preparations. They have a lot of work to do," he said, highlighting the works before holding the polls.

Dr Yunus said the biggest task is to update the voters' list. "This is already a difficult task in nature. Now the task has become even more difficult because the voters did not have the opportunity to participate in the last three elections."

Prof Yunus said no one has had the opportunity to verify the voters' list.

"We have to make sure that the names of all those who have become eligible to vote in the last 15 years are included in the voters' list. This is a big task," he said.

After the student uprising, there is no room for making any mistake as after a long time, many young people will vote for the first time, he said, adding that in the past, they were deprived of that right and joy.

"Therefore, their voting in this election will be a memorable event. All arrangements must be made to make this experience smooth," Dr Yunus said.

He said his sincere wish is that the young people who are first-time voters create a tradition by voting in close to 100 percent in this election.

He said they must ensure that those whose names were supposed to be on the voters list are duly enlisted.

"Special attention must be paid to removing fake voters from the list," he added.

This time, Dr Yunus said, they want to ensure that expatriate Bangladeshis can vote.

"We have heard assurances about this many times in the past. We want to ensure that this is implemented for the first time during the tenure of this government," the CA said.

"A reliable system must be made for this.

Everything is a time consuming matter," Dr Yunus said.

"If we want to further improve the election process and implement the recommendations of the Election Reform Commission, then the Election Commission must be given time according to the breadth and depth of the necessary reforms," he said.

US welcomes Interim Government's steps toward election readiness

Welcoming the interim government's announcement regarding the next national election, the United States has said they would advocate for "free and fair" elections conducted in a "peaceful" manner.

"So we welcome steps that have been taken by this interim government of Bangladesh to prepare for elections that ultimately will allow the Bangladeshi people to choose their own government representatives," said Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US State Department, Vedant Patel.

He made the remarks while responding to a question during a regular briefing at the State Department on December 18.

Patel said that the US is going to continue to monitor regarding the timing.

"And of course we're going to encourage the respect of the rule of law over the course of this whole process, as well as the respect for democratic principles should a transition come to fruition," he said.

"And as we would throughout the world, our - we would advocate for free and fair elections conducted in a peaceful manner," Patel added.

Responding to a separate question, he said they have been deeply troubled by reports that hundreds of Bangladeshis were forcibly disappeared over the past two decades.

"Enforced disappearance is an egregious human rights violation that inflicts the trauma of indeterminate detention or disappearance on its victims," he said.

It also inflicts the trauma of uncertainty on the families, Patel said.

"We welcome efforts by the interim government to investigate these crimes and encourage fair and transparent processes to provide justice for the victims and their family members," he said.

On December 17, during a briefing, a journalist mentioned that there are over 30 journalists who are jailed for over 60 days without hearing, any bail, and Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and several human rights organizations have signed a petition.

The journalist wanted to know whether the US will provide any statement to get them at least bail.

In reply, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said they have been consistent in dealing with this matter with the government of Bangladesh.

"We believe media freedoms ought to be upheld, the freedom of the press ought to be respected, and that such cases ought to be dealt with consistent with the rule of law and respect for the press," Miller said.