Bangladesh will hold its next national election on February 12, 2026, a date that marks a major political transition following the student-led movement that forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office in August 2024. The announcement was made in a televised address by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, who confirmed that voting for all 300 parliamentary constituencies and a nationwide referendum would take place simultaneously.
The referendum will decide the fate of the “July Charter,” a reform proposal that seeks to curb executive authority, strengthen judicial independence and restructure major state institutions. The next polls will therefore be the country’s first twin elections, combining parliamentary voting with a constitutional referendum.
Under the election schedule, candidates will file nominations on December 29, 2025. Campaigning will begin on January 22, 2026, and continue until 48 hours before polling. The Election Commission has prepared 42,761 polling centres and 2,44,739 booths to accommodate an estimated 127.6 million voters. Polling hours have been extended by an hour, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., to allow voters to cast both parliamentary and referendum ballots. Constituencies where only one candidate is in the fray will offer a “no vote” option.
The Commission has also introduced an online registration system for expatriates voting by postal ballot. By Wednesday evening, 2,97,000 expatriates had registered. Their ballots, which will include only party and independent symbols rather than candidate names, must reach returning officers before voting closes. Campaign posters have been prohibited for the first time as part of an effort to limit environmental damage.
The election will be the first since the political upheaval that toppled the Awami League government. The interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has governed the country since August 2024, after Sheikh Hasina left for India on August 5. The interim government banned the activities of the Awami League, and the Election Commission suspended the party’s registration. Unless the ban is lifted, the Awami League will be unable to contest the polls. Several of its leaders are reported to be absconding, while many others remain in jail.
Political analysts expect the principal contest to be between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, and Jamaat-e-Islami. The National Citizens Party (NCP), formed out of the 2024 uprising, will also enter the electoral arena.
The vote is expected to be a crucial indicator of the country’s democratic trajectory. Restoring democratic institutions, stabilising the economy, recalibrating relations with India, tackling corruption, and reinforcing judicial independence and press freedom are likely to dominate the campaign landscape.
-ANI
