The vote on February 12 is being seen as a major test of democracy in the South Asian country.
Campaigning has started in Bangladesh as preparations are underway to hold the first national elections since 2015 Uprising of 2024 which ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Major political parties held campaign meetings in capital Dhaka on Thursday ahead of the February 12 polls.
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Interim Government led by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus It has promised to hold free and fair elections, seen as the most effective in Bangladesh’s history.
The South Asian nation of about 170 million people will elect 350 lawmakers and decide on proposed political reforms. European Union election observers say the vote will be “the biggest democratic process of 2026”.
Yunus, 85, known as the “banker for the poor” because he helped lift millions out of poverty through his Grameen Bank, said he had inherited a “totally broken” political system.
He returned from exile in August 2024 at the hands of the protesters to lead a caretaker government as a “chief adviser”, but has vowed to step down after the vote.
His interim government championed a reform charter that Yunus argued would require a referendum on the changes to be held on polling day itself, to prevent a return to authoritarian rule.
The July National Charter, named after the coup that began in July 2024 and led to Hasina’s downfall, included giving the presidency more powers to balance the position of a powerful prime minister. It also proposes term limits for legislators and measures to prevent conflict of interest, money laundering and corruption.
It was signed by 25 of the country’s 52 registered political parties last year, but supporters say a referendum is needed to make it legally binding and part of the constitution.
Hasina, 78, was Death penalty in absentia In November for her failed attempt to cling to power for a deadly crackdown on protesters for crimes against humanity, and went into hiding in India.
Parties rally in claims of misinformation
Earlier, Hasina’s Awami League party was barred by the Election Commission of the country from contesting the elections. His registration was suspended in May
Tariq Rehman, Chairman Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for the prime ministership. He began his campaign in the northeastern city of Sylhet on Thursday and will visit several other districts in the coming days.
Thousands of supporters took out a rally in Sylhet chanting his name.
“Do we have a leader? Yes, we do,” shouted BNP loyalists. Rehman returned to Bangladesh only in December after 17 years of exile.
“He will carry on the legacy of his parents,” Harun ur Rashid, 40, told AFP news agency, Zia and her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981.
There is an alliance of 10 parties under his leadership Jamaat-e-Islami The party is also looking to increase its influence. If the Jamaat-led alliance emerges victorious, it would be a dramatic turnaround for a party that has faced a brutal crackdown during Hasina’s 15-year rule.
Jamaat-e-Islami has long faced criticism from secular groups that say its stance challenges Bangladesh’s secular foundations. The country has one of the largest Muslim majority populations in the world.
“We want something new and the new option is Jamaat,” Mohammad Jalal, 40, told Reuters news agency while attending a party rally in Dhaka. “They have a clean image and work for the country.”
Earlier this month, Yunus said he was “concerned” about the growing impact of disinformation, blaming both “foreign media and local sources”.
Yunus said, “They have spread fake news, rumors and speculations on social media.
He did not specify which foreign powers were behind the misinformation, but relations with neighboring India have soured after Hasina fled to her old ally New Delhi after protesters stormed her palace.