Polls and Plebiscite: Bangladesh chooses leaders and a new political path

Bangladesh on Thursday held its 13th parliamentary election alongside a controversial referendum on an 84-point reform package , marking the country’s first national vote since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted following mass protests in August 2024 . Voting took place from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm in 299 of the country’s 300 constituencies , with one seat postponed due to the death of a candidate . Vote counting began shortly after polling closed.

The contest was mainly between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami after the interim government headed by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus disbanded the Awami League and barred it from contesting. Election Commission officials said around 48 per cent voter turnout was recorded by mid-afternoon among nearly 127 million registered voters across 42,779 polling centres . A total of 1,755 candidates from 50 parties and 273 independents , including 83 women , contested the polls, while about 800,000 expatriate Bangladeshis voted through an IT-based postal ballot system .

Authorities deployed nearly one million security personnel in the largest security operation in the country’s electoral history, using armoured personnel carriers, drones and body-worn cameras for the first time. More than 55,000 domestic observers and nearly 400 international observers monitored the polls. Despite the heavy security presence, sporadic violence was reported from several districts. In Gopalganj , three people, including a minor, were injured in a hand bomb attack at a polling centre, while explosions briefly halted voting in Munshiganj . In Khulna , a BNP leader died following clashes with Jamaat-e-Islami activists outside a polling station. Police made arrests in Joypurhat, Sylhet and Dhaka over allegations of vote-buying, ballot stuffing and distribution of photocopied ballot papers .

Top political leaders, including Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, BNP chairman Tarique Rahman and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman , cast their votes early in the day. Tarique Rahman said his party would accept the results if the election was conducted freely and fairly , while Shafiqur Rahman said a neutral poll would reflect “the beauty of democracy.” Yunus urged restraint and reiterated his commitment to transfer power quickly to an elected government, while Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin appealed to citizens to vote freely and said representatives from dozens of countries and international organisations were observing the polls.

Alongside the election, voters were asked to approve or reject the “July National Charter 2025,” an 84-point reform package aimed at overhauling governance, the electoral system and state institutions. Key proposals include restructuring parliament into a bicameral legislature and revising executive and judicial powers. However, jurists and political analysts warned that the referendum could undermine the 1972 Constitution , the legal foundation of Bangladesh’s independence . They questioned its legality, noting that the Constitution does not provide for such a plebiscite , and argued that a single yes-or-no vote oversimplified complex reforms that many voters did not fully understand.

Law experts said 47 of the 84 proposals would require constitutional amendments, while the rest could be implemented through legislation or executive orders. Analysts said the outcome could have far-reaching implications: if the “Yes” vote wins , the next parliament would be required to act as a constitutional reform council and begin implementing the reforms within 180 working days ; if the “No” vote prevails , there would be no obligation to carry out the package and the existing constitutional framework would remain unchanged.

Yunus, who assumed office after the July Uprising toppled Hasina’s government on August 5, 2024 , has described the reforms as a path toward building a “civilised society.” The combined outcome of the election and the referendum is expected to shape Bangladesh’s political and constitutional future after months of uncertainty following last year’s upheaval, with results expected late Thursday night and into Friday.