Bangladesh General Election 2026 LIVE Updates: Bangladesh voted for a crucial national election today, the first since the July 2024 uprising that ended former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15 years of iron-fisted rule. Polls opened at 7:30am (7:00am IST) and closed at 4:30pm (4:00pm IST). The polling will involve more than 127 million eligible voters in the nation of some 170 million people, with 1,981 candidates contesting across 299 parliamentary seats nationwide, according to the Election Commission of Bangladesh (ECB). The voting has been cancelled in one constituency due to the death of a candidate. Bangladeshi citizens living abroad will also be able to participate through a postal voting system for the first time.
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration has said it is committed to holding elections that are free, fair and peaceful. To help ensure this, around 500 foreign observers are set to be present, including from the European Union and the Commonwealth, to which Bangladesh belongs.
The country’s political landscape has for decades revolved around two rival dynasties. On one side is the Awami League, headed by Hasina, and on the other is the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, now led by Tarique Rahman, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December. With the Awami League banned, the BNP has emerged as the front-runner, positioning Rahman as the leading candidate. Challenging the BNP is a broad 11-party coalition spearheaded by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, which is seeking to expand its influence in national politics.