(VOVWORLD) - More than 128 million Bangladeshis lined up outside polling stations on Thursday as voting began in a pivotal national election following the 2024 ouster of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a Gen Z-led uprising.
 A woman casts her vote inside a polling station during the national election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 12, 2026. (Photo: REUTERS/Fatima Tuj Johora)
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A record 50 parties are contesting the election, with more than 2,000 candidates including many independents competing for 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad, or House of the Nation.
The race is primarily between two rival coalitions led by former allies, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, with opinion polls giving the BNP a slight advantage.
Former Prime Minister Hasina’s Awami League has been banned from participating, a development expected to significantly reshape regional geopolitics, particularly Bangladesh’s relations with major partners such as India and China.
A voter at polling stations said: "After such a long time, we're finally casting our votes properly today. It's our rights as citizens. I don't want anything specific. I just want peace."
"What do we want from this election? We want to live happily in this country and to live freely. We want safety, and that's all," another voter said.
At the same time, voters are also taking part in a referendum on a sweeping constitutional reform package, including proposals to introduce term limits for the Prime Minister and strengthen judicial independence.
More than 300,000 soldiers and police officers have been deployed nationwide to secure polling stations. Vote counting will begin immediately after polls close on Thursday evening, with official results expected to be announced on Friday morning.