Interim leader Muhammad Yunus says implementing full list of electoral reforms could delay elections by a few months.

General elections in Bangladesh will be held in late 2025 or early 2026, the country’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker government installed after a popular revolution in August, announced.

“Election dates could be fixed by the end of 2025 or the first half of 2026,” the Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader said in a national broadcast on Monday delivered on the 53rd anniversary of Bangladesh winning independence.

Pressure has been growing on Yunus, appointed the country’s “chief adviser” after the student-led uprising that toppled ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, to set a date for elections.

Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman, whose refusal to support Hasina during the deadly student protests led to her departure, said in September that democracy should be restored within 12 to 18 months.

Opposition parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), one of two dominant parties in the country alongside the Awami League, have also called for elections to be held as soon as possible.

Yunus has launched commissions to oversee a group of reforms he says are needed, and setting an election date depends on what political parties agree to.

“Throughout, I have emphasised that reforms should take place first before the arrangements for an election,” he said.

“If the political parties agree to hold the election on an earlier date with minimum reforms, such as having a flawless voter list, the election could be held … by the end of 2025,” he added.

But including the full list of electoral reforms would delay polls by a few months, he said.

‘Extremely tough’ reforms

The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is leading a temporary administration to tackle what he has called the “extremely tough” challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of about 170 million people following Hasina’s removal.

Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to neighbouring India on August 5 as thousands of protesters stormed the prime minister’s palace in Dhaka.

Hundreds of people were killed in the weeks prior to Hasina’s removal, most by police gunfire.

Dozens more died in the hours after her toppling, largely in reprisal killings against prominent supporters of her Awami League party.

Her government was also accused of politicising courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections, to dismantle democratic checks on its power during 14 years in power.

Key among the reforms Yunus is pushing is an updated voter list, a “complex” challenge after years of turbulent democratic processes, requiring both the stripping of false names from lists and the registration of first-time voters in a rapidly growing youth population.

Yunus said he dreamed of “ensuring 100 percent voter turnout” in polls.

“If this can be achieved, no government will ever dare to strip citizens of their voting rights again,” he said.

Bangladesh last held general elections in January when Hasina celebrated victory, a poll denounced as neither free nor fair and boycotted by rivals after a crackdown during which thousands of opposition party members were arrested.

Yunus has said his administration is also focused on ensuring those guilty of abuses during the past government’s term face justice, including issuing a warrant for Hasina’s arrest.

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from the Season 5, Episode 14 episode of “Yellowstone,” “Life Is a Promise” which premiered Sunday, Dec. 15 on Paramount Network.

Even if Paramount Network isn’t calling it the series finale, Sunday’s “Yellowstone” episode certainly felt like the end of the show fans have known for five seasons.

Coming in the wake of last week’s fire sale of nearly everything on the ranch, the series’ wandering souls were left adrift.

There were some goodbyes early on, as Jimmy (Jefferson White), Mia (Eden Brolin) and Travis (Taylor Sheridan) headed back home to the 6666 in Texas, with Teeter (Jen Landon) promising to come down in a week looking for work. Walker (Ryan Bingham) says he’s going to follow his rodeo champ girlfriend around the circuit. Beth (Kelly Reilly) announces she bought a ranch outside of Dillion — far away from tourists and airports — for her to live with Rip (Cole Hauser). Rip offers Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) a job on their new ranch, but he declines, saying he needs to find himself.

Meanwhile, Beth and Rip prepare for the funeral of her father, John Dutton (Kevin Costner). At the same time, Kayce (Luke Grimes) tells Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) of his plan from the end of the last episode, specifically to let the Broken Rock Reservation buy the Yellowstone for $1.25 an acre, as it was sold to the Duttons originally.

It’s a nice moment, as Chief Rainwater and John Dutton were always the men most concerned with keeping the land pristine. And given how their conflicts in the past were always mild, it’s a sensible partnership. Additionally, Kayce works out a deal to keep his small ranch with Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and Tate (Brecken Merrill), which is a sweet touch.

Cut to everyone on the ranch preparing for John’s burial — and the metaphorical funeral of the Yellowstone itself. Jamie (Wes Bentley) spends the time prepping for how he’s going to start an investigation into both John and Sarah’s (Dawn Olivieri) murders, hoping to wiggle out of any political repercussions, as was discussed in the previous episode.

The funeral was classy and small, with Beth promising retribution to John’s coffin, and then Rip burying it himself and saying he’ll take care of Beth. Of course, immediately after, Beth tears off in her car, armed with bear spray and a big ol’ knife.

After sneaking up on Jamie at his house, Beth and her estranged brother have a bloody, knockdown brawl. It looks like Jamie might choke Beth to death, only for Rip to interrupt, grab him and free up Beth to deliver a fatal stab wound to Jamie. Farewell, Jamie — your scheming always kept things interesting!

Rip and Lloyd take one more trip to the Train Station with Jamie’s body as Beth promises to work with the police to tie him to both John and Sarah’s murders.

As things wrap up, cowboy Ryan (Ian Bohen) apologizes to country star Abby (Lainey Wilson) and heads off with her for life on the road. Rip walks through the empty grounds of the ranch, shutting the door on the bunkhouse, while Beth surveys the big, empty main house one more time with Kayce.

As the episode ends, the tribe takes over the land and starts to remove the Dutton signage, while preserving the graveyard. The closing voiceover is from Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), their ancestor who appeared in prequel series “1883” and “1923,” as Kayce’s family starts ranching on their own terms, as does Rip and Carter (Finn Little) on their land with Beth.

As for the future of the show? Just this week Reilly and Hauser signed up for a new spinoff of the series, so it’s clear “Yellowstone” will return — even if it’s in a different capacity.

Happy trails, “Yellowstone” fans!