Bangladesh Election 2026: Here's what to know about the polls on February 12

Bangladesh holds its first parliamentary elections since the 2024 student protests and the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. With young voters and new alliances in play, the outcome will be a critical test for the nation’s political future.

Voters in Bangladesh are set to head to the polls on Thursday for the country’s first parliamentary elections since the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, following a brutal crackdown on student-led protests in 2024 that claimed around 1,400 lives. Election campaigning concluded on Tuesday morning, paving the way for a high-stakes vote that will shape the nation’s political landscape.

Voting process and schedule

Polling stations across the country will open at 7:30 am (01:30 GMT) and close at 4:30 pm (10:30 GMT) on 12 February. Citizens will cast their votes at 42,761 centres across 64 districts for 300 parliamentary constituencies, according to the Election Commission of Bangladesh (ECB).

Bangladesh has 127,711,793 registered voters aged 18 and above as of 31 October 2025. This election introduces postal voting for the first time, enabling around 15 million overseas workers, whose remittances are vital to the economy, to participate.

The country operates a unicameral legislature, the Jatiyo Shangsad, or House of the Nation, with 350 seats. Of these, 300 are elected via a first-past-the-post system, while 50 seats are reserved for women and allocated proportionally to parties after the results are declared. Under this system, a party securing 151 seats can form a government without a coalition, while the runner-up becomes the official opposition.

High stakes amid political upheaval

This is the first national election since January 2024, when Hasina returned to power for a fifth term amid widespread opposition boycotts. Her administration faced criticism from international observers for curbing political freedoms.

Mass student protests erupted in July 2024 against a government job quota system favouring descendants of Bangladesh’s 1971 freedom fighters. Hasina responded with a severe crackdown, resulting in nearly 1,400 deaths and over 20,000 injuries, according to the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

Following these events, Hasina fled to India and remains in exile. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was appointed interim leader in August 2024, while Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity by the ICT in Dhaka. Her Awami League party was subsequently banned from all political activity.

Main parties and candidates

The election features two principal coalitions:

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP): A centre-right coalition of ten parties, led by Tarique Rahman, son of the late former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Rahman returned from 17 years of exile in London in December 2025. BNP, founded in 1978 by Ziaur Rahman, remains rooted in Bangladeshi nationalist principles and has alternated between government and opposition with Hasina’s Awami League historically.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JIB): Leading an 11-party alliance, including the National Citizen Party (NCP), JIB is headed by 67-year-old Shafiqur Rahman. Founded in 1941, the party opposed Bangladesh’s independence in 1971 and was banned after liberation. Its registration was restored by the Supreme Court in June 2025, allowing it to contest the elections independently. The alliance also includes NCP, led by 27-year-old Nahid Islam, a student leader from the 2024 protests. Notably, JIB is fielding its first Hindu candidate, Krishna Nandi, from Khulna.

Other parties contesting independently include Islami Andolan Bangladesh and the Jatiya Party, a former ally of Hasina’s Awami League.

Opinion polls and election significance

A December 2025 survey by the US-based International Republican Institute indicated BNP support at 33 per cent, with JIB close behind at 29 per cent.

Results are expected the following morning, though counting may take longer due to ballots for both parliamentary seats and a concurrent referendum on the July National Charter 2025. The referendum, drafted by the caretaker government post-protests, proposes constitutional amendments and new legislation.

This election carries extraordinary significance. With young voters making up a substantial portion of the electorate, many will vote for the first time. The absence of the Awami League from the ballot, the resurgence of Islamist parties, and the potential for political realignment make this vote a decisive moment in Bangladesh’s history.