Bangladesh’s latest ranking, where it ranked 13th among the world’s most corrupt countries as per Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, is nothing if not deeply hurtful. A marginal improvement in score and the slip in position underscores a bitter truth: As a nation, we remain trapped in a cycle of dishonesty and dysfunction.

It is particularly sorrowful that even under the stewardship of Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, whose global reputation rests on integrity and innovation, we have failed to make meaningful progress in this long-standing battle against corruption. 

While we must always acknowledge the vast challenges this administration faced from the very beginning of its formation, we are forced to conclude that despite all the promises, the interim government has largely squandered a rare opportunity to set an example of transparency. Instead of ushering in reforms, it allowed entrenched practices to persist.

This has left ordinary citizens even more disillusioned, and the nation’s image further stained. Corruption affects every single Bangladeshi, robbing the poor of dignity, denying the young their future, and eroding trust in every institution meant to serve the people. 

The sorrow lies not only in where we stand today, but in the realization that we could have done better. We had a chance to change the narrative, to prove that honesty and accountability could guide governance.

With elections a day away, the next government must treat this as a national emergency. We must confront the reality that corruption continues to corrode the very foundations of our democracy and development. Bangladesh continuing to be defined by its corruption is a humiliation that cannot be ignored.