Voters in Bangladesh will go to the polls on February 12 for the country’s first parliamentary elections since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted following a deadly crackdown on student-led protests in 2024. The Election Commission of Bangladesh said voting will take place across 42,761 polling centres in 64 districts for 300 parliamentary constituencies. More than 127 million registered voters, including 15 million overseas workers voting by post for the first time, are eligible to participate. A referendum on the July National Charter 2025, outlining constitutional and legal reforms, will be held alongside the election.

The election marks a major political turning point after Hasina’s Awami League was banned from politics. The centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, heads a 10-party coalition, while the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami (JIB) leads an 11-party alliance that includes the National Citizen Party formed by 2024 protest leaders. Analysts say the vote will test the strength of Islamist parties, the influence of young voters, and the future of the Awami League’s political exclusion.

Experts describe the election as one of the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history, with its outcome expected to shape the nation’s political direction and foreign relations for years to come.