New Delhi: The stage is set for Bangladesh to hold its first parliamentary elections on Thursday since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was unseated
and forced to flee to India in August 2024. Her government was toppled following a crackdown on widespread student-led protests in 2024 that reportedly resulted in around 1,400 deaths.
The crucial polls will be held on Thursday, with millions of voters expected to decide the course of the country’s future course amid stepped up security. Sporadic violence have rocked different parts of Bangladesh ahead of the vote, and the security apparatus has been put on high alert to ensure there are no disruptions.
When will the polls start and close?
Polling will start at 7:30am (local time) on February 12 and draw to a close at 4:30pm. People will cast their votes through ballot papers in transparent ballot boxes at 42,761 polling centres in 64 districts for 300 parliamentary constituencies, the Election Commission of Bangladesh (ECB) said.
How many voters are there?
There are 127 million eligible voters. As of October 31, 2025, there are as many as 127,711,793 registered voters aged 18 and above, including those enrolled to vote by postal ballot both within the country and abroad. It is for the first time that postal voting has been started. The postal voting will enable around 15 million overseas workers to take part in the electoral process.
How many candidates are in the fray?
A total of 2,028 candidates, representing 50 political parties and independent ones, are vying for 299 seats in the 13th Jatiya Shangsad elections. Of them, 83 are women candidates. Voting in Sherpur-3 constituency has been postponed due to the death of a candidate.
The ECB said that out of the total candidates, 1,755 are contesting from political parties and 273 are independent ones. Among the women candidates, 63 are from parties and 20 are independent. Among the male candidates, 1,692 are from parties and 253 are independent.
Election officials wait to collect election materials at Dhaka Residential Model college on the eve of national election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP/PTI)
How does voting work?
Bangladesh has a parliamentary system and Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected to the single legislative chamber Jatiya Shangsad, with 350 constituencies. Each constituency elects one representative to a single-member seat. The candidate who secures the highest number of votes is declared winner, even if they do not secure a majority (over 50%).
The first-past-the-post (FPTP) system is used by Bangladesh. Under this system, 300 members are elected through voting. The remaining 50 seats are reserved for women and distributed among parties in proportion to their share of the 300 elected seats. For example, if a party bags 60 seats, it would receive 10 of the reserved seats, which are then allocated to women candidates.
Bangladesh adhere to a plurality voting system. Under this, each electorate selects one candidate from a list, and the candidate who bags the highest number of votes emerges as the winner.
The party which secures 151 seats forms the government without requiring to strike a coalition with other parties. The leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister. The party with second maximum seats forms the official opposition.
When will the results be declared?
Earlier, unofficial results used to trickle in early the next morning of polling. However, this time, the counting is likely to take longer as it will involve both the white parliamentary voting ballot and the pink ballots for the referendum on the July National Charter. The charter proposes a series of structural reforms to restrict executive authority, giving more power to democratic institutions, and respond to long-standing demands that were made during the 2024 student-led uprising. There is also a huge number of parties and candidates in the poll fray this time.
