Bangladesh Sets Feb 12 Date for First Election Since Hasina Ouster

Bangladesh will hold national elections on February 12, the Election Commission announced on Thursday, marking the country’s first parliamentary vote since last year’s deadly student-led uprising that drove former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina into exile in India.

The poll will take place under an interim administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has struggled to contain growing frustration over delays in long-promised reforms, sparking renewed protests and deepening political polarisation.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said in a national broadcast that a referendum on the proposed “July Charter” will be held the same day. The reform blueprint, drafted in the aftermath of the upheaval, seeks to limit executive authority, bolster judicial and electoral independence, and prevent misuse of law-enforcement agencies.

Former premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party is widely regarded as the leading contender in the upcoming vote, competing alongside Jamaat-e-Islami, which has re-entered electoral politics after restrictions were eased by the interim government. Jamaat, the country’s largest Islamic party, had been barred from elections since a 2013 court ruling found its charter incompatible with the secular constitution.

The National Citizen Party — formed by student leaders after the 2024 upheaval — is trailing both BNP and Jamaat as it struggles to transform mass street mobilisation into electoral gain.

Hasina’s Awami League, prohibited from contesting the polls, has warned of unrest if the ban remains in place.

Voters will be weighing key issues including restoring democratic governance, repairing an economy disrupted by political instability and pressure on the garment sector, managing strained relations with India, tackling corruption, and strengthening media freedoms.