Parliamentary election, referendum on February 12

After 18 years, the much-anticipated national election and referendum on the July (Reform) Charter will be held simultaneously on February 12 (Thursday) under a non-political government, according to the Election Commission's announcement on Thursday evening.

The schedule was announced by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin in a pre-recorded speech shown at 6:00 pm on state-owned Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar.

According to the election calendar, the deadline for submitting nomination papers is December 29, while the scrutiny of nomination papers is from December 30 to January 4, and the deadline for withdrawing candidature is January 26.  The electoral campaign will begin on January 22.

On February 12, the balloting will take place from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm without interruption.

The Chief Election Commissioner expressed optimism for a joyful election with passionate public involvement.

In the 2026 general election, a total of 12.76 crore electors will be able to vote at over 42,000 polling places across the country's 300 constituencies.

Bangladesh will hold a general election and a referendum concurrently for the first time in its electoral history.

This election will differ from previous general elections in various aspects, including the prohibition on the use of posters during the campaign, while digital campaigning and billboards are allowed.

Despite the longstanding presence of the postal balloting mechanism, previous elections have never utilised it.

This is the first time the Election Commission has implemented an IT-supported hybrid postal balloting system, allowing expatriates, government employees, polling personnel, and those who will be in legal custody to exercise their franchise through a combination of digital registration and manual voting.

After 2008, no general election was held under a non-political administration, with the last three parliamentary elections staged by the Awami League government in 2014, 2018, and 2028.  The 9th parliamentary election was held on December 29, 2008, under the army-backed caretaker administration.