Bangladesh will hold its next general elections in the first week of February 2025, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin announced on Saturday, while acknowledging a deep-rooted public mistrust in the electoral process and institutions.
Speaking at a function in Rangpur, the CEC said the exact date of polling would be revealed two months before the formal schedule is announced. “People have lost confidence in the election system, the Election Commission, and the administrative machinery involved in the electoral process,” Uddin said, according to state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).
He stressed that the Election Commission was “working tirelessly to restore this lost trust” and assured that the upcoming polls would be conducted in a free, fair, and impartial manner, despite several existing challenges.
The CEC’s remarks come just days after interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus confirmed that general elections would be held in February next year. The announcement coincided with the first anniversary of the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government, which was ousted following mass protests on August 5, 2024.
Uddin acknowledged growing voter apathy, saying, “Over the years, people have become disengaged from the voting process.” However, he assured that as long as the Commission remained committed to its constitutional responsibilities, all actions would be carried out within legal frameworks.
Overlooking concerns raised by civil society and rights groups about potential unrest, the CEC stated, “The law and order is currently stable and we aim to make it even better so that citizens can vote peacefully and without fear.”
Meanwhile, political dynamics in the country have shifted dramatically since the ousting of the Awami League. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by self-exiled acting chairman Tarique Rahman, has re-emerged as the largest political force. On Friday, Rahman announced that the BNP and its allies would contest the upcoming elections as a coalition.
The BNP, which once aligned with the far-right Jamaat-e-Islami, has visibly distanced itself from the party since the political transition last year, signalling a strategic move to broaden its appeal among centrist voters and civil society.
In February this year, a significant student-led movement that helped oust the previous government gave rise to a new political entity—the National Citizen Party (NCP)—adding another dimension to Bangladesh’s evolving political landscape.
