DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh has commenced official campaigning for its first general elections since the 2024 uprising that culminated in the removal of long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The February 12 parliamentary vote represents a historic turning point for the South Asian nation, occurring under an interim administration led by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus.
The electoral landscape has been fundamentally reshaped by the exclusion of Hasina’s formerly dominant Awami League party, which the interim government banned from participation. This development has created an unprecedented political vacuum, with the historically influential Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a ten-party alliance led by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami organization emerging as primary contenders.
Adding to the complex political dynamic is the National Citizen Party (NCP), a new political entity formed by student leaders who played instrumental roles in the July 2024 uprising. The alliance between Jamaat-e-Islami—long criticized by secular groups for challenging Bangladesh’s foundational secular principles—and the progressive NCP demonstrates the unusual political realignments characterizing this election.
Tarique Rahman, chairman of the BNP and son of recently deceased former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, has returned from seventeen years of exile in the United Kingdom and is widely perceived as a frontrunner for the premiership. Rahman commenced his campaign in Sylhet with plans for nationwide rallies, capitalizing on substantial support rooted in his mother’s political legacy.
The interim government has repeatedly committed to ensuring peaceful and credible elections despite concerns about law and order following the violent crackdown that resulted in hundreds of casualties during the uprising. Yunus assumed leadership three days after Hasina departed for India on August 5, 2024.
A distinctive feature of this electoral process involves a concurrent national referendum on the July National Charter, a proposed framework seeking constitutional reforms that would establish term limits for legislators, enhance presidential authority to counterbalance the prime minister’s power, and implement measures against corruption and money laundering. While the charter currently remains nonbinding, its supporters advocate for constitutional incorporation through the referendum process.