Bangladesh Party Leaders Say They Will Accept Poll Results if Conducted Fairly

PTI, DHAKA, FEB 12, 2026: Leaders of top Bangladesh contending parties on Thursday said that they will accept the results of the elections if they are held in a “free, fair, impartial manner.” 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 deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's now-disbanded Awami League.

The general elections were held simultaneously along with a referendum on a complex 84-point reform package introduced by Yunus. The voting, which started in 299 out of 300 parliamentary constituencies across the country at 7:30 am (local time), ended at 4:30 pm.

BNP leader Tarique Rahman, after visiting several polling centres in the capital, said that BNP will accept the results if the election is held in a "free, fair, impartial manner and without controversy." Expressing optimism about winning the elections, he said, "We are confident, Alhamdulillah, I'm optimistic about victory."

Shafiqur Rahman, the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, BNP's once ally and now main contender, said his party would accept the results if the election were held fairly. He said he hoped the election would pave the way for forming a government that would not belong to any individual, family or party, but to the country's 180 million people. "We are optimistic about forming such a government. Pray for us," he was quoted as saying by the BSS.

Bangladesh's mainstream media was flooded with allegations of pre-poll vote stuffing, voter bribing, distribution of photocopied ballot papers and clashes among rival candidates, prompting joint forces of army and police to arrest several activists.

In a midnight statement on a social media platform, the Jamaat chief had urged people to ignore the reports, saying, "Dear countrymen, a 'laylatul gujob' (night of rumours) is underway, don't pay heed to them." After casting his vote, Shafiqur urged the media to play a neutral role.

BNP chief Rahman said he received "some unpleasant information last night which was not desired." The now-disbanded Awami League has been kept out of the fray, with most analysts saying it disfranchised a large segment of voters, barring them from voting for candidates of their choice.

Sporadic incidents of violence have marred the polls. In Gopalganj, three persons, including a 13-year-old girl, have been injured in an alleged crude bomb attack at a polling station, BDnews24 reported. Separately, a series of hand bomb explosions took place outside a polling station in the Munshiganj-3 constituency, temporarily disrupting voting.