Bangladesh Holds 13th Parliamentary Elections Amid Tight Security

PTI, DHAKA, FEB 12, 2026: Bangladesh people on Thursday voted in the crucial general elections, marred by sporadic incidents of violence, to elect a new government to replace the interim administration which took charge after the fall of the Awami League regime in August 2024. The voting for the 13th Parliamentary elections was held along with a referendum on a complex 84-point reform package.

The voting began in 299 out of 300 parliamentary constituencies across the country from 7:30 am (local time) amid tight security and continued until 4:30 pm. However, in places where voters were inside the polling station, the voting will continue until they vote. The counting of votes has already begun in many places. The election in one constituency has been cancelled due to the death of a candidate.

The election is seen as a direct contest between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its once ally Jamaat-e-Islami, in the absence of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina's now disbanded Awami League. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus' interim government last year disbanded the Awami League and barred it from contesting the polls.

Election Commission senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed said around 48 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 2 pm nationwide, state-run BSS news agency reported.

Nearly 127 million voters were registered to cast their ballots across 42,779 polling centres in 299 constituencies nationwide. The top leaders of Bangladesh's two major contending parties, as well as Chief Adviser Yunus, cast their ballots early in the day.

BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, who cast his vote at the Gulshan Model School and College centre in Dhaka's upscale Gulshan area, said the poll results will be accepted if the election is held in a free, fair and neutral manner. "If the election is held in a free, fair, impartial manner and without controversy, then why shouldn't we accept it? We will accept it. However, of course, there is one condition that the election must be impartial and peaceful. If the people cast their votes, there can be a democratic beginning in the country from today," he said.

Shafiqur Rahman, the chief of right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami, which is leading an 11-party alliance, cast his vote at the Monipur Uchcha Vidyalaya and College. He said his party would accept the election results if the polls were held in a free and neutral manner.

The Election Commission made elaborate security arrangements, deploying nearly one million security personnel — the largest ever in the country's electoral history. There were reports of electoral violence in some places.

In Gopalganj, three persons, including a 13-year-old girl, were injured in an alleged hand bomb attack at a polling station, BDnews24 reported. The blast occurred around 9 am at the Reshma International School centre at Nichupara. Two members of the Ansar, a paramilitary auxiliary force responsible for election security, were among those hurt. The injured have been taken to a hospital.

Zahirul Islam, the presiding officer at the polling station, said the injuries were minor and that voting resumed shortly afterwards.

In a separate incident, a series of hand bomb explosions have taken place outside a polling station in the Munshiganj-3 constituency, temporarily disrupting voting. The blasts occurred around 10:15 am in front of the Makhati Gurucharan High School centre. Between 10 and 12 crude bombs were detonated, officials said. Voting at the centre was suspended for around 15 minutes.

Presiding Officer Md Titumir said the explosions caused panic among voters. "We stopped voting briefly, but it has now started again, and people are casting their ballots," he said.

Also, a BNP leader has died during an altercation with Jamaat-e-Islami activists outside a polling centre in Khulna.