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Bangladesh general election to be held in February 2026, says poll body chief
The election comes months after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted out of power in August last year following students' protest.
Bangladesh Election Commission chief AMM Nasir Uddin said on Saturday that the country’s general elections will be held in the first week of February 2026. The poll official, however, added that the exact date of the elections will be unveiled around two months before the schedule, news agency PTI reported.
The election comes months after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted out of power in August last year following students' protest. Currently, the country is run by an interim government headed by its chief advisor Muhammad Yunus.
Also read: 2 arrested for vandalising Tagore’s ancestral home in Bangladesh: Govt in Lok Sabha
‘Voter apathy, lack of trust’
While giving a brief idea about the timeline of the upcoming Bangladesh elections, the country’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nasir Uddin also said that it will be a major challenge to conduct the polls in a free, fair, and impartial manner because the people do not have confidence in the electoral process of the country.
“People have lost confidence in the election system, the Election Commission and the administrative machinery involved in the electoral process,” Nasir Uddin said at a function in northwestern Rangpur district, as quoted by state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).
He however added that his office was working “tirelessly” to restore the lost faith.
Nasir Uddin also said that he feared that apathy was growing among voters as “over the years, people have become disengaged from the voting process”. He added, however, that “as long as the Election Commission remains conscious of its responsibilities, all actions will strictly follow the rules, regulations and laws.”
He also said that Bangladesh’s law and order situation is currently stable and that the poll body “aims to make it even better so that citizens can vote peacefully and without fear.”
What Muhammad Yunus said on polls in Bangladesh
Earlier on Tuesday, Bangladesh’s chief adviser Muhammad Yunus also declared that the country’s next general election will be held in February next year. His announcement on August 5 came exactly a year after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from her office following an uprising.
"On behalf of the interim government, I will write to the Chief Election Commissioner, requesting that the Election Commission organise a national election in February 2026, before the next Ramadan," Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus had said.
"We will all begin mental preparation and institutional arrangements from tomorrow to complete all arrangements so that this year's election is memorable in the country's history in terms of joy and celebration, peace and order, voter turnout, and cordiality," he added.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
