The 13th general election in Bangladesh is scheduled to be held on Thursday (February 12, 2026). The last general elections in the country were held in the year 2024, when Sheikh Hasina became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, but after the coup of August 2024, now general elections are being held once again in the year 2026.
Along with the general elections, there will also be voting on referendum in Bangladesh, in which voters have to answer yes or no. If the yes vote is high, then the new government will be forced to legally implement the package of constitutional reforms (July Charter) through the Parliament.
Counting of votes will start immediately after voting
Voting will be held in Bangladesh on Thursday (February 12, 2026) from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, in which a total of 12 crore 76 lakh 12 thousand 384 voters of the country will exercise their franchise. Counting of votes will start as soon as voting ends. Elections in Bangladesh are conducted through ballot paper. Bangladeshi citizens living abroad will also be able to vote in these elections, arrangements for postal ballot have been made for them.
According to a data of Bangladesh Election Commission, more than 8 lakh postal ballot papers have been issued by the Commission. These postal ballot papers will have to be submitted by noon on 12th February.
What is the mathematics of voters in Bangladesh??
Out of total 12.76 crore voters in Bangladesh, the number of male voters is 6,47,60,382 and the number of female voters is 6,28,50,772. Apart from this, there are also 1,230 transgender voters. That means there is not much difference in the number of male and female voters. At the same time, if we talk about young voters, this will prove to be the most decisive.
What is the number of young voters?
In this general election of Bangladesh, the number of voters in the age group of 18-37 is about 56 million, out of which the number of first-time voters is about 4.57 million, that is, about 44 percent of the total voters are youth. Young voters are important in the elections because the student and youth movement of Bangladesh was behind the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina. The youth had taken command of the anti-Hasina movement. Whichever party the first-time voters go with, it is considered certain that they will be defeated.
How many candidates are in the fray for the 300 parliamentary seats in the country?
The total population of Bangladesh is 173 million, of which 90 percent is Muslim population and around 9 percent is Hindu population. The Hindu community is considered a minority in Bangladesh. Elections are being held on a total of 300 parliamentary seats in Bangladesh and to form the government it is necessary to win at least 151 seats.
Apart from this, 50 seats are reserved separately for women, which are distributed among the political parties in proportion to their vote share. Voting is taking place simultaneously in 64 districts of a total of 8 divisions in Bangladesh.
Currently, 59 political parties are in the electoral fray in Bangladesh. A total of 1,981 candidates, including political parties and independent candidates, are in the fray. Any citizen of Bangladesh who has completed 25 years of age can try his luck in the electoral field.
Complete ban on Awami League in general elections
Sheikh Hasina’s party Awami League is completely banned in the general elections of Bangladesh. In such a situation, three major political parties are visible in the country. in which,
- Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
- Jamaat-e-Islami
- National Citizen Party (NCP) is included.
However, apart from these, many other parties are also in the electoral fray. There is an alliance of Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP, which includes a total of 11 political parties. At the same time, Bangladesh Nationalist Party also has an alliance with some small party groups.
Shafiqur Rehman is leading in the claim for the post of Prime Minister from the Jamaat-e-Islami alliance, while Tariq Rehman is leading in the race for the post of Prime Minister from the BNP alliance. After 2 Begums, the political fight in Bangladesh now seems to be narrowing between 2 Rahmans.
