Bangladesh to hold national election on February 12

Bangladesh will hold its 13th national election on February 12, 2026, said the country’s Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Thursday.

This will be the first election in the country since the ouster of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government following a mass uprising.

Uddin said that a national referendum on the “July Declaration” would also be held on the same day, reported Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.

The declaration promises full state and constitutional recognition of the 2024 student protests.

In August, Muhammad Yunus, the head of the country’s interim government, said that the declaration was essential to ensure “no future government can become fascist again”.

Yunus, a Nobel laureate economist, took over as chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government three days after Hasina resigned as the prime minister and fled to India on August 5, 2024. Hasina fled after several weeks of widespread student-led protests against her Awami League government.

She was ousted from power after being the prime minister of Bangladesh for 16 years.

Yunus had pledged to step down once an elected government took office.

The last elections in the country were held in January 2024, when Hasina returned to office for a fourth consecutive term. The Awami League had won 222 out of the 300 elected seats in Parliament. Notably, the vote was boycotted by her main rivals, who accused her administration...

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