Dr. Yunus to Brazilian President: First fair election in 16 years to be held in February

Principal Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus said the upcoming national parliamentary elections in Bangladesh will be held in the first half of February. Highlighting the importance of the elections, he said, “This will be a real and historic election. The first fair election in 16 years.”
He added that elections during the previous authoritarian regime were “fake and rigged.”
He made the remarks while meeting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the World Food Forum (WFF) held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Rome on Monday (October 13).
The two leaders delivered keynote speeches at the forum and later held a meeting. There, they discussed issues of mutual interest, including social business, universal healthcare, social inclusion and strategies to combat poverty.
During the meeting, the Chief Advisor formally invited President Lula to visit Bangladesh. President Lula accepted the invitation and expressed his desire to visit by February. “I will go to Bangladesh,” he said.
President Lula added, “Brazil is eager to share its experience in providing universal healthcare for its citizens, and to learn from Bangladesh about social entrepreneurship and microfinance.” In response, Dr. Yunus said, “That would be great.”
The two leaders also discussed issues such as deep-sea fisheries, making medicines – especially vaccines affordable and patent-free – to combat climate change (in the context of the upcoming ‘COP30’ conference), and the youth-led mass movement in Bangladesh in July 2024.
Dr. Yunus recalled his previous experiences in Brazil, which included a meeting with the then President of that country in 2008 and his visit to major cities in Brazil in October 2023.
At that time, President Lula invited Professor Yunus to participate in the ‘COP30’ conference. In response, the Chief Advisor thanked him for the invitation and said that he would not be able to attend the ‘COP30’ conference. Because at that time he would be busy preparing for the upcoming general elections in Bangladesh.
In the meeting, the Chief Advisor emphasized the need for closer cooperation and increased trade between Bangladesh and Brazil. At the same time, Dr. Yunus expressed his sincere support for Brazilian football in Bangladesh. He said that the people of every village in Bangladesh support Brazil.
The meeting was attended by – Food Advisor Ali Imam Majumder, Fisheries and Livestock Advisor Farida Akhtar, SDG Coordinator Lamia Morshed and Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam. In addition, several ministers and senior officials of the Brazilian government were also present.