Voting campaign in Bangladesh to start from Jan 22; polling on Feb 12

Dhaka: The election campaign in Bangladesh will start from January 22 amidst tight security.

Bangladesh will hold the general elections on February 12, its first since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in a violent student-led protest in August 2024.

According to the revised election schedule, appeals against returning officers’ decisions will be settled between January 10 and 18, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

The deadline for withdrawal of candidacy is January 20. Returning officers will publish the final list of candidates and allocate electoral symbols on January 21.

Election campaigning will begin on January 22 and will continue until 7:30 am on February 10. Voting will take place on February 12, from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

The Election Commission (EC) will also begin training more than 800,000 presiding and assistant presiding officers from January 22 as part of preparations for the general elections scheduled to be held on February 12 alongside a referendum.

The training programme will continue until February 7, said Muhammad Hasanuzzaman, director general of the Election Training Institute (ETI) on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus reaffirmed his government’s commitment to hold the general election and the referendum as scheduled on February 12, no matter who says what.

“No matter who says what, the election will be held on February 12—not a day before, not a day after,” the chief adviser said, adding that the vote would be free, fair and peaceful and held in a festive atmosphere.

The chief adviser made the remarks when two former senior United States diplomats—Albert Gombis and Morse Tan, both of whom served during the Donald Trump administration— met him at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka on Tuesday night.

Yunus said there had been a flood of fake news to deliberately spread confusion surrounding the elections, but stressed that the interim government remained firm in its commitment to holding the polls on February 12 and handing over power to an elected government once the results are announced.

He said the interim government would remain completely neutral during the elections, ensuring an unbiased administration and a level playing field for all political parties.