Bangladesh: National election, referendum set to be held on Feb 12

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A M M Nasir Uddin made the announcement in a pre-recorded address broadcast on state-owned Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar on Thursday evening.

The election schedule sets December 29 as the deadline for submitting nomination papers, followed by scrutiny from December 30 to January 4. The final date for withdrawal of candidature is January 26, while the election campaign is set to begin on January 22, leading Bangladeshi media outlet UNB reported.

Bangladesh is set to hold the February 2026 election alongside a referendum for the first time in the country’s electoral history.

Last month, the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government directed the EC to hold a referendum on the same day as the February 2026 elections, the EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed confirmed.

“The Cabinet Division sent the letter to the commission, directing it to begin necessary preparations for holding a referendum,” Bangladesh’s The Business Standard quoted an EC official as saying.

Earlier, the CEC Nasir Uddin said that holding the referendum and election on the same day would be challenging for the EC.

"Preparations for the election are already in full swing, but holding the national polls and a referendum on the same day would be a major challenge. Once the law is enacted, we will know what kind of preparations are required for the referendum. After the law is passed, the commission will fully prepare for it,” the CEC stated.

He further said, “Whatever the challenges, the EC will hold the referendum and the national election on the same day. We have no option but to move forward.”

Last week, Bangladesh’s Awami League party slammed Yunus, for suspending all activities of the party, a move it said effectively blocked nearly 40 per cent of the country’s voters from taking part in the February 2026 election.

With that single order, the party said, the upcoming poll ceased to resemble a national election and became a “carefully staged exercise” designed to keep real competition out.

“When Yunus suspended all activities of the Awami League, it wasn’t just an administrative decision; it was a political blackout unprecedented in Bangladesh’s history. With a single executive order, he managed to silence the country’s largest political force and effectively shut down the voices of nearly 40 per cent of the electorate. No debate. No due process. No public mandate. Just raw, unchecked power,” the Awami League stated.