Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Bangladesh will hold its 13th National Parliamentary Election and the referendum on the July Charter on February 12, 2026, the Election Commission (EC) announced on Thursday evening, marking the country’s first-ever twin polls and the first national vote under a non-political government since 2008.
In a pre-recorded address aired on state media at 6pm, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin said the declaration formally brings the electoral code of conduct into force.
According to the schedule, December 29 is the last date for filing nominations. Scrutiny will be held from December 30 to January 4, while appeals may be filed until January 11 and settled by January 18.
The last date for withdrawing candidature is January 20, and the final candidate list and election symbols will be released on January 21. Campaigning will run from January 22 to February 10, ending at 7:30am on polling day.
In an additional briefing linked to the referendum timetable, the EC indicated that withdrawal may extend to January 26, reflecting procedural adjustments.
Voting will take place from 7:30am to 4:30pm, an hour longer than usual, as voters will cast ballots for both the general election and the referendum. About 12.76 crore voters will vote across 42,761 polling centres and 2,44,739 booths in 300 constituencies.
First-time hybrid postal ballots: For the first time, the EC will use an IT-supported hybrid postal ballot system for expatriates, government officials, polling staff, and individuals in legal custody.
By Wednesday evening, 2,97,000 expatriates had registered. Their ballots will contain only party and independent symbols, not candidate names.
CEC urges voters: ‘Vote without fear’: Calling for public participation, CEC Nasir Uddin urged citizens to vote “without fear” and expressed hope for a “festive election”. The EC will appoint returning officers (ROs) and assistant ROs through gazette notification, with divisional commissioners of Dhaka and Chattogram and district deputy commissioners traditionally serving as ROs. The Commission will also ask the Cabinet Division to ensure field-level officials are not transferred until results are declared.
The election will introduce several new rules. Posters, placards and banners are banned, while digital campaigns and billboards are allowed. Candidates must clear public spaces of campaign materials within 48 hours of the schedule announcement.
Advisers and senior officials cannot use government facilities for campaigning, and no new development projects may be launched that could influence voters.
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, after meeting the EC on Wednesday, called the 13th national election a “historic opportunity to build a new Bangladesh” following the July mass uprising. He stressed that the polls must be “fair and credible.” The EC also briefed President Mohammed Shahabuddin and earlier met Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed.
Despite progress, concerns remain. Eminent economist and CPD Distinguished Fellow Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya said in Chattogram that people now broadly accept that the election will be held, but “doubts over whether it will be free, fair and credible still persist.”
“People are gradually accepting that the election will take place. But the uncertainty over whether it will be a good and acceptable one has not disappeared,” he said after a Citizen’s Platform consultation. “Prof Yunus has claimed that he will deliver the best election in history. We are waiting to see that.”
Debapriya said he has seen no survey suggesting the election might not take place, calling it “an inevitable event,” but added that questions over a “genuinely fair election” remain.
He highlighted strong public demands for an independent judiciary, neutral policing, and transparency in politicians’ income and assets, criticising both the previous and current interim governments for failing to implement asset disclosure reforms.
The last time Bangladesh held a general election under a non-political administration was December 2008. The following three national polls—2014, 2018 and 2024, were held under the Awami League government. The twin polls on February 12 are expected to be Bangladesh’s most consequential vote in nearly two decades.