Parliamentary Elections in Bangladesh

The parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, held on February 12, are interesting to consider in the context of the evolving situation in South Asia.

Domestic political aspects

The repeatedly postponed elections to the Bangladeshi parliament finally took place a year and a half after the coup and the flight of the previous Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, to India. She had held this office continuously since 2009, and during that time the country achieved notable economic development. It seemed that the optimistic forecast from the early 2000s was about to come true, i.e., the prospect of Bangladesh, once one of the world’s poorest countries, joining the pool of the “Next Eleven” drivers of the global economy within two decades.

However, the sharp deterioration of the global political situation at the beginning of this decade (particularly Covid-19) had a most negative impact on Bangladesh’s economy as well. At the same time, the domestic political situation worsened, as the long-standing, uncompromising struggle between the two main political clans –the Awami League party led by Sheikh Hasina and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led in recent decades by Khaleda Zia (who passed away on December 30, 2025) – was compounded by protests from student youth.

Following unsuccessful attempts to suppress the protests, including through the use of firearms, Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 6, 2024. The interim government formed by the “students” was headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who had previously been in London. His promised few months until parliamentary elections to form a legitimately elected government stretched into a year and a half.........

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