Bangladesh set for first national election after Hasina's exit; date to be announced today
Since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, Bangladesh has been governed by an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
A year after the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina government in the 2024 July uprising, Bangladesh is all set to host its first election since the regime change. As per a Reuters report, the Bangladesh Election Commission will announce the date for the next national elections on Thursday.
Since the uprising and the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, Bangladesh has been governed by an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Reuters cited senior Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed who stated that the date for the Bangladesh elections will be announced by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin in national broadcast at 6 pm local time.
Along with this, a national referendum on implementing the so-called 'July Charter', a state reform plan drafted in the aftermath of the unrest, is also expected to be held on the same day.
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This charter calls for wide-ranging changes to state institutions, including curbing executive powers; strengthening the independence of the judiciary and election authorities; and preventing the misuse of law-enforcement agencies.
Bangladesh elections in 2026?
Earlier in August, Bangladesh Election Commission chief AMM Nasir Uddin said that the national elections will be held in the first week of February 2026.
The poll body chief added that conducting the elections will be a major challenge, given the large-scale voter apathy and lack of trust in the system.
“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).
Who will contest?
Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party is widely seen as the frontrunner in the upcoming polls. Along with the Jamaat-e-Islami party, which has returned to electoral politics after the interim government eased restrictions.
Jamaat, Bangladesh's biggest Islamic party, was not allowed to contest elections after a 2013 court ruling that its registration as a political party conflicted with the country's secular constitution.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League has been barred from contesting the election. However, her son has warned of unrest across the country if the ban on the party is not lifted.
(With agency inputs)
