Dhaka, Feb 12 (.) Nearly 127 million eligible voters in Bangladesh are casting their ballots on Thursday in the 13th parliamentary elections, 18 months after student-led protests toppled long-time leader Sheikh Hasina.
The elections are regarded as one of the most consequential in Bangladesh’s recent history, with the outcome likely to determine the country’s political direction after years of unrest and instability.
Since Hasina’s ouster, Bangladesh has been run by an interim administration led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. The interim government last year dissolved Hasina’s Awami League and barred it from contesting the polls, marking a major political shift after decades of rivalry between Hasina and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The country has now moved beyond the long-standing ‘Battle of Begums’ era, following Zia’s death in December last year.
The polls assume added significance with the return of Tarique Rahman to Bangladesh after 17 years in exile. Rahman, who became chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) following his mother’s death, is leading opinion polls ahead of Thursday’s vote.
His main rival is Jamaat-e-Islami (also known as Jamaat), a resurgent Islamist party that has allied with the National Citizen Party (NCP), founded by former student leaders of the 2024 uprising that toppled Hasina. Voters will not only choose between the centrist BNP and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami but will also influence Bangladesh’s ideological direction, institutional coherence, and ability to govern amid rising disorder.
A total of 51 political parties are participating in the elections, including smaller parties such as factions of the Jatiya Party, the Left Democratic Alliance, and the Amar Bangladesh Party.
The Election Commission has deployed nearly one million security personnel—the largest security operation in the country’s electoral history. More than half of the polling stations have been flagged as high-risk, with around 90% under CCTV surveillance. In Dhaka, many police officers are wearing body cameras to monitor the process.
“Security arrangements have been planned according to local risk assessments,” Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah said at a briefing.
Voting began at 7:30 am and will continue until 4:30 pm today, with counting set to begin immediately after polls close. Official results are expected on Feb. 13. Of the 1,981 candidates contesting, 249 are independents. Nearly 4.6 million first-time voters will be casting ballots, and almost half of the electorate is aged between 18 and 37.
In addition to the parliamentary elections, voters will also decide on the National Charter 2025 in a nationwide referendum. The 84-point reform package, drafted by the interim government, aims to guide future governance and strengthen institutional reforms in Bangladesh.
Corruption remains the top concern for voters, according to a recent survey conducted by the Communication Research Foundation and Bangladesh Elections and Public Opinion Studies. Bangladesh consistently ranks low on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, reflecting widespread frustration over graft and weak governance. Other pressing issues include inflation, unemployment, and economic development.
For New Delhi and regional observers, the stakes are high given Bangladesh’s strategic position. Yet the narrow field of electoral choices leaves limited room for alternative visions of governance. Since the toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024, Bangladesh has been governed amid a volatile mix of street mobilisations, bureaucratic reshuffles, and ideological contests. Violence, labour unrest, and political intimidation have shifted from episodic disruptions to a persistent backdrop of national politics, setting the stage for these critical elections.
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