Bangladesh to announce national election date on December 11

Bangladesh's Election Commission will announce the date for the parliamentary elections scheduled for February on Thursday, according to an official from the Commission. This follows the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024, after a student-led uprising.

Since August of last year, the country has been governed by an interim administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, following Hasina's departure to India in the wake of deadly street protests against her government.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin is set to announce the election schedule in a national broadcast at 6:00 p.m. local time (1200 GMT), as confirmed by senior Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed.

Along with the election schedule, a national referendum on the implementation of the 'July Charter'—a state reform plan developed in the aftermath of the unrest—is expected to be held on the same day.

The proposed charter outlines sweeping changes to the nation's institutions. These include curbing executive powers, bolstering the independence of the judiciary and election authorities, and preventing the misuse of law enforcement agencies.

Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is widely regarded as the leading contender in the upcoming election, alongside the Jamaat-e-Islami party. Jamaat, the country’s largest Islamic political party, has returned to the electoral scene after the interim government lifted restrictions on its participation.

The party had been barred from contesting previous elections due to a 2013 court ruling, which determined that its registration as a political party violated Bangladesh's secular constitution. Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority nation with a population of 173 million people.

Hasina’s Awami League, which remains banned from participating in the upcoming elections, has warned of potential unrest if the ban is not lifted. -Ruma Paul/Reuters