Bangladesh 2026 election: The ballot and beyond
On 12 February 2026, Bangladesh holds its first election since the July Revolution in 2024 that overthrew the authoritarian government of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League. These polls are among the most critical in the country’s tumultuous history. Hasina’s exile, a ban on the Awami League and a generational change in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) after Khaleda Zia’s death have transformed the face of Bangladesh politics. Meanwhile, many young voters will be casting ballots for the first time in their lives as the country holds its first competitive election in almost 20 years.
The BNP, once the Awami League’s only real rival, is the frontrunner in this election. But an Islamist resurgence, led by the Jamaat-e-Islami, has created a significant oppositional force, bolstered by the Jamaat’s alliance with the National Citizen Party, a new student-led outfit born out of the anti-Hasina uprising. The result has been a rightward drift in Bangladesh’s politics – with a rise in conservative, anti-women and anti-minority rhetoric – despite the secular and inclusive nature of the movement that led to Hasina’s fall and this election.
Himal Southasian brings you a special series unpacking Bangladesh’s contested present and recent past, offering nuance and deeper perspective to make sense of the election and what comes after it.
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In the series:
Shakeel Anwar on The rebranding of Islamist politics in Bangladesh
Navine Murshid on how Bangladesh’s women have lost before the country has even voted