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US-linked institutes resurface in B'desh amid election prep

The meetings suggest that the Mohammad Yunus-led interim government may soon initiate steps toward the promised national elections in February 2026.

News Arena Network - Dhaka - UPDATED: October 21, 2025, 05:47 PM - 2 min read

A representative image.


Slightly over a year after their alleged involvement in activities preceding the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) have once again become “active” in Bangladesh, according to intelligence sources.


Intelligence reports indicate that four IRI officials and one NDI representative on Monday met today with US diplomats in Dhaka, including Chargé d’Affaires Tracey Ann Jacobson and Political-Economic Counsellor Eric Geelan, to discuss election training and observation programmes. The meetings suggest that the Mohammad Yunus-led interim government may soon initiate steps toward the promised national elections in February 2026.


“A key participant in the meetings was Lisa Curtis, former Deputy Assistant to the US President and Senior Director at the National Security Council (NSC) between 2017 and 2021. Curtis, who previously held senior roles within the US intelligence community, reportedly played an instrumental role in coordinating the student movement and Jamaat-e-Islami during the events that led to the regime change in Dhaka in mid-2024,” said an officer of an intelligence wing.

 


Currently serving as Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), Curtis has also been vocal on US-India relations, cautioning that former US President Donald Trump’s trade policies risked undermining Washington’s strategic partnership with New Delhi.


Other participants in the meetings included IRI’s Senior Adviser (Electoral Integrity) Jessica Keegan, Resident Program Director (Philippines) Stephen Cima, Program Director Darin Anthony Bielecki and James John Fluharty. The NDI was represented by Program Director (Asia-Pacific) Jami Sachs Spykerman.


Earlier this week, the IRI team reportedly held meetings with leaders of the National Citizens Party (NCP)—a political group formed by student activists who spearheaded the movement that led to Hasina’s ouster and the rise of the interim regime.


Reports from last year had already highlighted the roles of IRI and NDI in facilitating the regime change in Dhaka during July–August 2024. “Officials from these organisations had frequently visited Bangladesh between 2023 and early 2024, ostensibly to assess the political situation ahead of the controversial January 7, 2024, elections, which saw Hasina’s Awami League secure a fourth consecutive term,” said the intelligence wing’s officer.

 

Also Read: Bangladesh airbase build-up near Siliguri corridor worries India


However, the situation rapidly changed as a student-led uprising erupted months later, culminating in Hasina’s fall from power and her subsequent flight to India.


The IRI’s activities are not limited to Bangladesh. “The organisation spent substantial funds in Nepal between 2020 and 2024, conducting training programmes for youth and civil society groups prior to the mass agitation that unseated the KP Sharma Oli government,” the officer added.


With renewed activity by US-linked organisations and the interim government preparing for elections, political observers in the region are closely watching the unfolding developments in Bangladesh’s volatile political landscape.

 

Also Read: Bangladesh prosecutor seeks death penalty for ex-PM Hasina

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