Bangladesh Prepares for 2026 Post-Hasina Election

Bangladesh is preparing for its first general election since the 2024 ouster of longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, with voters set to choose members of the Jatiya Sangsad national parliament on February 12, 2026. The vote, overseen by an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, will also include a nationwide referendum on the July National Charter, a reform framework aimed at restructuring the country's political institutions.

The election follows a student-led uprising in July and August 2024 that forced Hasina to resign and flee to India amid widespread protests against her government's policies, including job quotas and alleged authoritarian practices. United Nations estimates indicate that security forces killed around 1,400 people during the crackdown, which galvanized public participation and led to Yunus assuming power in August 2024. Hasina's Awami League has been barred from contesting the polls, leaving the field to 51 other parties in a contest dominated by three main groups: the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), and the National Citizen Party (NCP).

The BNP, led by Tarique Rahman since the death of his mother, former Prime...