Bangladesh to hold national elections on Feb 12 next year, first since Hasina’s exit and months of turmoil

(FILES) People check their names in the electoral rolls to cast their votes at a polling station during Bangladesh's general elections in Dhaka on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP)

The general elections in Bangladesh will be held on February 12, the country's Election Commission announced on Thursday. This will be the country’s first national vote since last year’s student-led uprising that forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India.

A national referendum on the "July Charter" will also be held on the same day, proposing significant reforms to state institutions, including curbing executive powers and strengthening judicial independence, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said in a television broadcast to the nation. Voting will be held simultaneously for all 300 parliamentary seats.

Since Hasina's departure, an interim government helmed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been running the country of 173 million. But frustration has been growing over delays in the reforms the administration promised, triggering renewed protests and deepening political divides.

The CEC also announced that the next elections will be the first-ever twin polls in Bangladesh's history.

According to the schedule announcement, candidates will file their nomination papers on December 29, 2025. Candidates can campaign from January 22, 2026, untill 48 hours before the election.

The Election Commission (EC) has finalised plans for 42,761 polling centres and 2,44,739 booths for around 127.6 million voters. Polling will continue from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, an hour longer, as voters will cast both their votes and referendum ballots. Constituencies with only one candidate running will feature a "no vote" option. For the first time, campaign posters are banned to protect the environment.

Expatriates have an online registration system for postal ballots, and by Wednesday evening, about 2,97,000 had registered. Their ballots will carry only party and independent symbols, not candidate names, and must be received by returning officers before the close of voting.

In Bangladesh, a student-led uprising in July 2024 brought down the government of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On August 5, Sheikh Hasina fled to India, and an interim government was formed under Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.

The interim government banned the activities of Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh Awami League, and the EC postponed the party's registration. Awami League will not be able to participate in the elections unless the interim government and the EC lift the ban. A large number of Awami League leaders and workers are currently absconding in the country and abroad. Many leaders and workers of the party are in prison.

It is believed that the main competition in the upcoming elections will be between former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami. The newly formed National Citizens Party (NCP), which led the uprising against Sheikh Hasina, will also participate in the upcoming elections.

The election is expected to be a crucial test for Bangladesh's democracy, with key issues such as restoring democracy, reviving the economy, repairing ties with India, tackling corruption, and ensuring judicial independence and press freedom taking centre stage.

India has expressed its hope for free, fair, credible, inclusive, and participatory elections in Bangladesh.