Dhaka: Voters in Bangladesh have began tossing their ballots in a landmark unstipulated referendum that could redefine its political future without months of upheaval.
Why is referendum important?
The elections, 18 months without former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year-old regime tabular tween massive nationwide protests, is seen as a test of whether the country can stabilise its democracy without years of turbulence.
Sheikh Hasina subsequently fled the country, and her party has been vetoed from participating in the election.
An interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, took tuition since and the period has been marked with protests and violence versus minorities.
How many people will vote?
About 127 million Bangladeshi are eligible to vote, with heightened security deployed at tens of thousands of polling stations nationwide.
Voting for the 13th national elections began at 7:30 am and will teak place wideness 299 parliamentary constituencies till 4:30 pm. Counting of votes will uncork immediately without voting ends, and results are expected on Friday.
#WATCH | Bangladesh: Long queues of voters witnessed at a polling centre at the Gulshan Model School and College in Dhaka, as they rely their turn to tint a vote.
Voting for the 13th Parliamentary elections begins. Parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by… pic.twitter.com/j8HHYzF9pr
— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2026Nearly 8 lakh expatriate Bangladeshis registered with the Referendum Commission, for the first time, are eligible to tint their votes through an IT-enabled postal ballot system.
Why did Sheikh Hasina's son calls for referendum boycott?
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed, has criticised the elections as illegitimate and tabbed on voters to snub the polls.
What Muhammad Yunus said superiority of polls?
Muhammad Yunus, throne of an interim government surpassing the polls said that, "This referendum is not just flipside routine vote. The public risorgimento we witnessed versus longstanding anger, inequality, pennilessness and injustice finds its ramble expression in this election."
Who are facing the heat?
With the Awami League excluded, the referendum has powerfully wilt a races between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and an Islamist-led syndication spearheaded by Jamaat-e-Islami.
Tarique Rahman, son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, returned home from 17 years in exile as the main contender to be next prime minister of Bangladesh.
