Live updates,

The landmark election determines the country’s leadership and return to democracy following a 2024 student-led uprising.

Published On 12 Feb 2026

  • Polls have formally closed in Bangladesh’s landmark election, which is seen as a direct contest between Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a coalition of 11 parties, led by the resurgent Jamaat-e-Islami party’s chief, Shafiqur Rahman.
  • While opinion polls suggest Tarique Rahman is a frontrunner for the prime minister, the Jamaat-led alliance, which includes the National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by student leaders behind the 2024 uprising, could spring a surprise.