Bangladesh Set to Announce First Election Date Since Sheikh Hasina’s Ouster

A year after Sheikh Hasina’s government was toppled during the July 2024 uprising, Bangladesh is preparing to announce the date of its first national election under the interim administration. According to a Reuters report, the Bangladesh Election Commission will reveal the polling schedule on Thursday.

Since Hasina’s removal in August 2024, the country has been run by a caretaker government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told Reuters that Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin will announce the election date in a national broadcast at 6 pm local time. A nationwide referendum on the proposed July Charter—a sweeping state reform blueprint drafted after the unrest—is also expected to take place on the same day.

The charter proposes major institutional changes, including limiting executive authority, strengthening judicial and electoral independence, and curbing misuse of law-enforcement agencies.

Election Expected in Early 2026

In August, CEC Nasir Uddin had indicated that the national election would be held in the first week of February 2026. He acknowledged that restoring public confidence in the electoral process remains a significant challenge.

“People have lost confidence in the election system, the Election Commission and the administrative machinery involved in the electoral process,” he said, according to state-run BSS.

Who Will Be in the Race?

Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is widely seen as the current frontrunner, alongside the Jamaat-e-Islami, which has returned to electoral politics after the interim government relaxed previous restrictions. Jamaat was barred from elections following a 2013 court ruling that found its registration incompatible with Bangladesh’s secular constitution.

Meanwhile, the Awami League—the party formerly led by Hasina—remains barred from contesting. Hasina’s son has warned of nationwide unrest if the prohibition is not revoked.