On February 12, Bangladesh will head to the polls to elect its next government, 18 months after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from office by a student-led movement.Hasina, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the country’s independence movement, ruled Bangladesh between 1996 and 2001 and again from 2009 until she had to flee from office in August 2024 – after ordering a brutal crackdown on protesters which killed an estimated 1,400 people – and seek exile in India.An interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has since led the country.Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming general election:Bangladesh at a glanceThe 2026 elections are among the most consequential in the country’s 55-year history, since gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971.With more than 173 million citizens, Bangladesh is the eighth most populous country globally and, over the past 25 years, its economy has been one of the fastest-growing in the world – though growth has cooled in recent years.Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, with more than 90 percent of the population following Islam, 8 percent practising Hinduism and the rest following other faiths.Economically, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) stands at $461bn, with a per capita income of $1,990.According to the Bangladesh Bank, GDP expanded by 3.97 percent in the fiscal year ending June 2025, easing from a 4.22 percent rise in the previous year. (Al Jazeera)Millions of first-time votersBangladesh ha …
