Bangladesh to Hold National Elections in Early February, Election Commission Announces

RANGPUR, Bangladesh - Bangladesh’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin announced Saturday that the country’s next general elections will be held in the first week of February 2026, marking the 13th parliamentary polls. However, he acknowledged that ensuring the vote is free, fair, and impartial remains a major challenge.

Speaking in Rangpur, Uddin said the exact election date will be revealed two months before the schedule is formally announced. “People have lost confidence in the election system, the Election Commission, and the administrative machinery involved in the process,” he told state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS). “We are working tirelessly to restore this lost trust.”

The CEC’s remarks come just days after interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus confirmed February as the election month, coinciding with the first anniversary of the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024.

Addressing law and order concerns, Uddin met with deputy commissioners and police superintendents from eight districts in Rangpur Division, stating that “law and order is currently stable” and pledging to improve conditions further so citizens can vote “peacefully and without fear.” He also expressed concern over growing voter apathy, noting that people have become disengaged over the years, but assured that all commission actions will strictly follow rules and laws.

The elections will be held under a vastly changed political landscape. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has become the largest political force in the absence of the Awami League, which was dissolved by the Yunus government under an executive order. BNP’s self-exiled acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, announced Friday that the party will contest the polls as part of a multi-party alliance.

The BNP, which had previously formed a 12-party coalition including center-right and one left-leaning group, has distanced itself from the far-right Jamaat-e-Islami a key ally during its 2001–2006 administration and in the 2018 election. Analysts say the move is aimed at reshaping BNP’s image as more liberal and centrist, appealing to civil society, younger voters, and moderate political forces.

The upcoming vote follows a year of political upheaval. On August 5, 2024, a violent student-led protest movement, Students Against Discrimination (SAD), toppled Hasina’s government. Three days later, Yunus assumed the role of chief adviser. Earlier this year, a large faction of SAD formed the National Citizen Party (NCP), adding another player to Bangladesh’s evolving political scene.

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Source: NDTV

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