Bangladesh to hold general elections in February 2026 amid rising voter apathy

Bangladesh’s Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin announced on Saturday (August 9) that the general elections are scheduled for the first week of February 2026.

However, he noted that conducting the polls in a free, fair, and impartial manner remains a significant challenge. The exact election date will be announced two months prior to the polls.

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“People have lost confidence in the election system, the Election Commission and the administrative machinery involved in the electoral process,” state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) quoted Uddin as saying at a function in northwestern Rangpur district.

Growing apathy among voters

Uddin said his office, however, was “working tirelessly to restore this lost trust.” The CEC’s comments come four days after interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced that the polls would be held in February next year. Yunus had made the announcement coinciding with the first anniversary of the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime on August 5.

Uddin feared that there was a growing apathy among voters as “over the years, people have become disengaged from the voting process,” but added “as long as the Election Commission remains conscious of its responsibilities, all actions will strictly follow the rules, regulations and laws.”

Contrary to civic and rights groups’ concerns over the law and order situation in the country, Uddin said, “The law and order is currently stable and we aim to make it even better so that citizens can vote peacefully and without fear.” The CEC, however, said the exact date of the election would be disclosed two months before the schedule was announced, while his office was preparing to conduct the polls within a short time frame despite various challenges.

Upper hand for Khaleda Zia’s BNP

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has emerged as the single largest party in Awami League’s absence after Yunus’ government disbanded its activities under an executive order.

BNP's self-exiled acting chairman and Zia’s son Tarique Rahman on Friday said the party and its like-minded partners would take part in the February polls as an alliance.

The BNP earlier formed a 12-party alliance, mostly centre-right groups and a left-leaning one, but the party has visibly distanced itself from its once crucial ally, the far-right Jamaat-e-Islami. Jamaat was a key partner in the BNP-led four-party alliance government that ran the country from 2001-2006.

Widening rift with Jamaat-e-Islami

Earlier in the 2018 national election, BNP included Jamaat-e-Islami as part of its electoral alliance, but since the ouster of the Awami League regime last year, there has been a visible rift between them.

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Analysts said BNP’s decision to distance itself from Jamaat was both political and strategic as it would give BNP a more liberal and contemporary image to civil society, the youth, and centrist political forces.

A violent street protest by Students Against Discrimination (SAD) ousted the Awami League government on August 5, 2024. Three days after Hasina fled the country, Yunus took over as the chief adviser on August 8. A large offshoot of the SAD formed the National Citizen Party (NCP) in February this year.

(With agency inputs)