Bangladesh’s Chief Election Commissioner A.M.M. Nasir Uddin announced Thursday that the nation’s next general elections will take place on February 12, marking a pivotal moment in the country’s political landscape eighteen months after the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The electoral timetable was formally disclosed during a nationally televised address, revealing that citizens will simultaneously participate in a referendum concerning proposed political reforms while electing 300 parliamentary representatives.
The electoral process will commence with nomination filings from December 12-29, followed by a six-day review period. January 20 has been designated as the final date for candidate withdrawals. This election represents the thirteenth national vote since Bangladesh achieved independence from Pakistan in 1971 following a bloody liberation war.
The political environment remains deeply fractured since the massive protests of July-August 2024 that precipitated Hasina’s removal from power. The former leader, now residing in exile in India, received a death sentence in November from a Bangladeshi court for crimes against humanity related to the unrest. Since August 8, 2024, an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has governed the nation, implementing a ban on all activities of Hasina’s Awami League party that effectively excludes the former ruling party from electoral participation.
Reactions to the election announcement have revealed stark political divisions. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), along with Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami and the newly formed National Citizen Party, welcomed the electoral timeline. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir characterized the announcement as ‘a day of joy,’ expressing confidence that the election commission and government were committed to implementing the people’s democratic rights.
Conversely, Hasina’s Awami League condemned the election as illegitimate, asserting that excluding the party that led Bangladesh’s independence movement would plunge the nation into profound crisis. The interim government under Yunus congratulated the election commission, describing the upcoming vote as consolidating Bangladesh’s ‘new trajectory’ following last year’s historic uprising.
International human rights organizations have raised concerns about Bangladesh’s democratic transition, with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International questioning the rule of law under the interim government and the fairness of Hasina’s trial. The nation remains polarized as it attempts to break from the dominance of two dynastic political camps—Hasina’s Awami League and the BNP led by ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia—while addressing concerns about rising Islamist influence.
The concurrent referendum addresses demands by political parties to legitimize the ‘July National Charter’ of political reforms, which currently lacks binding legal status. In Bangladesh’s parliamentary democracy of 170 million people, only parliament can amend the constitution, making the referendum’s outcome potentially significant for the country’s governance framework. Over 127.6 million registered voters are eligible to participate in both the electoral and referendum processes.