The vote scheduled for February 12 is seen as a major test for democracy in the South Asian nation.

Campaigning has begun in Bangladesh as the country prepares to hold the first national elections since the 2024 uprising that ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The major political parties on Thursday held campaign rallies in the capital, Dhaka, ahead of the vote scheduled for February 12.

The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold a free and fair election, which is seen as the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history.

The South Asian nation of about 170 million people will elect 350 lawmakers and decide on proposed political reforms. European Union election observers say the vote will be the “biggest democratic process of 2026”.

Yunus, the 85-year-old known as the “banker to the poor” as he helped lift millions out of poverty through his Grameen Bank, said he inherited a “completely broken” political system.

He returned from exile in August 2024 at the behest of protesters to lead a caretaker government as “chief adviser”, but he has pledged to step down after the polls.

His interim government championed a reform charter that Yunus argued was vital to prevent a return to authoritarian rule, with a referendum on the changes to be held on the same day as polling.

The July National Charter, named after the uprising that began in July 2024 and led to the fall of Hasina, includes giving the presidency more authority to balance what had been a powerful prime minister’s position. It also proposes term limits for legislators, and measures to prevent conflicts of interest, money laundering and corruption.

It was signed last year by 25 of the country’s 52 registered political parties, but supporters say a referendum is needed to make it legally binding and part of the constitution.

Hasina, 78, was sentenced to death in absentia in November for crimes against humanity for the deadly crackdown on protesters in her failed bid to cling to power, and remains in hiding in India.

Parties hold rallies amid disinformation claims

The Awami League party, formerly led by Hasina, has been barred from running in the election after the country’s Election Commission suspended its registration in May.

Tarique Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for prime minister. He launched his campaign in the northeastern city of Sylhet on Thursday and is scheduled to visit several other districts in the coming days.

Tens of thousands of supporters rallied in Sylhet, chanting his name.

“Do we have a leader? Yes, we do,” BNP loyalists shouted. Rahman only returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile.

“He will carry forward the legacy of his parents,” Harun Ur Rashid, 40, told the AFP news agency, referring to Zia and her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981.

A 10-party alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami party is also seeking to expand its influence. If the Jamaat-led alliance is able to emerge victorious, it will be a dramatic turnaround for a party that was subjected to a brutal crackdown during Hasina’s 15-year government.

Jamaat-e-Islami has long faced criticism from secular groups who say its positions challenge Bangladesh’s secular foundations. The country is home to one of the world’s largest Muslim-majority populations.

“We want something new and the new option is Jamaat,” Mohammad Jalal, 40, told the Reuters news agency as he attended the party’s rally in Dhaka. “They have a clean image and work for the country.”

Earlier this month, Yunus said he was “concerned” about the impact of a surge of disinformation, blaming both “foreign media and local sources”.

“They have flooded social media with fake news, rumours and speculation,” Yunus said.

He did not specify which foreign powers he believed were behind the disinformation, but relations with neighbouring India have soured after Hasina escaped to her old ally New Delhi as protesters stormed her palace.