An opinion piece published on January 10, 2026, in the newspaper Amar Desh warns that signs of extensive election engineering are beginning to appear ahead of Bangladesh’s forthcoming national elections. The article argues that such manipulation could push the country into a deep crisis, as surveys suggest that the two main political parties currently enjoy nearly equal public support. Even minor engineering could therefore cause major shifts in seat distribution, potentially leading to results reminiscent of the 2014 or 2018 elections, which the author claims would be unacceptable domestically and internationally.

The analysis outlines several possible methods of election engineering, including pre-election arrests or intimidation of opposition activists, polling station takeovers, manipulation of vote counts, and alteration of results during transmission to returning officers. It also describes how administrative behavior, media narratives, and international signals can shape public perception weeks before voting, influencing undecided voters. The author asserts that the state apparatus plays the central role in such processes and notes that Bangladesh’s administration has not functioned independently for over 15 years.

The piece concludes that without administrative reform, the extent of election engineering in the upcoming polls remains a critical concern.