Bangladesh’s Yunus may resign due to insufficient reform advancement, according to a student leader.

The de facto prime minister of Bangladesh has warned of resigning if political parties fail to reach a consensus on reforms that the public is increasingly anxious for, a prominent student leader stated, heightening uncertainty following last year’s violent protests.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, aged 84, assumed the role of interim leader of the South Asian country with 173 million people last August following a student-led revolt that caused former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to escape to India.

Nahid Islam, leader of the recently-established National Citizen Party (NCP), advocating for national elections only after reforms are accomplished, stated that Yunus is struggling to operate without the support of political parties.

“He was visibly upset,” Islam told reporters after meeting the leader on Thursday.

“He said if he cannot do the work he was asked to do – reform the system and prepare for fair elections – then he may have to leave. He feels trapped between demands from different political camps and growing public impatience.”

Yunus promised major reforms in various sectors after Hasina’s exit, but a lack of progress and growing political disagreement have put his administration in a tight spot.

“We told him clearly that people didn’t rise up just to switch governments, but to change the system,” said Islam, whose party emerged from last year’s student-led protests. “Elections without reform will only take us back to the same problems.”

He gave no further details. Yunus’ media team did not promptly reply to phone calls and messages requesting a response.

With the interim administration caught between conflicting pressures for rapid general elections and reforms, such a resignation might result in added uncertainty. Yunus stated that the elections might be postponed until 2026.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), under the leadership of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, has been advocating for elections to be held by December. On Wednesday, BNP officials stated it would be “challenging” to maintain support for the interim government without a solid election strategy.

In response to Islam’s comments, senior BNP figure Abdul Moyeen Khan sought official confirmation from Yunus’ office, as his government’s credibility was at a significant low. Compounding the pressure, Bangladesh’s army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, urged for December elections during a speech this week at Dhaka cantonment, voicing his discontent with the political scenario.