Elections in Bangladesh

Bangladesh's national parliamentary elections use 300 single-member territorial constituencies. The candidate with the highest number of votes wins each constituency. Women may contest these ordinary seats, and MPs separately elect 50 reserved women members through proportional representation using the single transferable vote. The President is elected indirectly by MPs. After a parliamentary election, the President appoints the MP who appears to command majority support as Prime Minister, and Parliament is summoned within 30 days after the general-election result. The Bangladesh Election Commission is an independent constitutional body responsible for national and many local elections. It consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and up to four other Commissioners, each serving a five-year term. The Election Commission Secretariat and regional, district, upazila and thana election offices support the work, while Returning Officers manage constituency-level procedures and Presiding Officers manage individual polling stations. Local elections cover City Corporations, Paurashavas, Union Parishads, Upazila Parishads, districts and the three Hill District Councils under their own laws and rules, so their procedures do not automatically match parliamentary elections. A voter must be a Bangladeshi citizen who is at least 18 years old and resident, or treated as resident, in the relevant constituency. A court finding of unsound mind and certain convictions under the Bangladesh Collaborators Order can exclude a person from voting. The right to vote depends on inclusion in the final electoral roll; possession of a National Identity Card alone does not automatically establish that entitlement. Registration normally uses household data collection, Form-2, photographs and fingerprints at a registration centre, followed by biometric duplicate checking. A draft roll is published for 15 days of claims, objections and corrections before the final roll is prepared. A qualified person left off the roll can apply through the prescribed district election process, using the applicable forms. Correction charges follow the official fee schedule, although an error by the authority may be corrected without a fee. A parliamentary candidate must be a Bangladeshi citizen aged at least 25 and listed on the electoral roll of any constituency. Candidates need a nomination from a registered political party or may stand as independents, with a proposer and seconder. Disqualifications include unsound mind, undischarged insolvency, foreign allegiance, relevant convictions and holding an office of profit. One candidate may contest up to three constituencies. The nomination process runs through submission, scrutiny, withdrawal and polling, with polling generally following at least 15 days after scrutiny. Political parties need registration with the Election Commission. A party can qualify through winning a seat or receiving at least five percent of the votes in the constituencies it contests, or through a required organisational structure covering at least one third of the administrative districts and at least 100 upazilas or metropolitan thanas, with at least 200 voter-members in each such unit. Its constitution must provide for democratic internal elections. Registered parties are also subject to a target of 33 percent women in committee positions by 2030, and a banned party cannot be registered. Candidates pay a Tk 50,000 nomination deposit. The deposit is forfeited when a candidate receives less than one eighth of the total votes. Campaign expenditure is limited to Tk 10 per voter or Tk 25 lakh, whichever is higher. Candidates disclose funding sources, assets and income-tax information at nomination, use a separate scheduled-bank account and submit an expense return with an affidavit within 30 days. Political parties submit their expense statement within 90 days. The Election Commission's code of conduct regulates campaigning, while bribery, personation, undue influence, intimidation and breaches of ballot secrecy can lead to criminal consequences. The Commission may remove officials who influence an election, stop polling or order a fresh poll when malpractice, coercion, intimidation, force or another serious disruption prevents a fair and lawful vote. Voting takes place by secret ballot using paper ballots or an Election Commission-authorised electronic voting machine where applicable. Officials check the voter's identity against the electoral roll, apply indelible ink, record the elector number and name, mark the roll and complete the required counterfoil record. The voter marks the chosen candidate's name and symbol, folds the ballot and places it in the ballot box before leaving. Candidates, election agents, polling agents and accredited observers may observe within the applicable rules. Blind or otherwise incapacitated voters may receive help from a companion. Disabled, sick or older voters may receive home biometric registration service, and voter or polling-centre information is available through Election Commission and National Identity Card services; the Election Commission helpline is 105. Postal voting is limited to legally defined groups rather than being an unrestricted remote option. It can cover eligible election-duty personnel assigned away from their polling station, specified categories under electoral-roll law and Bangladeshi voters abroad. Applications generally follow the election-specific deadline, commonly within 15 days after the Article 11 notification, while polling staff apply promptly after appointment. The Returning Officer sends the ballot, and the voter marks and posts it with the required certificate. The 2026 Postal Vote BD and OCV-ICPV procedures were election-specific and should not be treated as a permanent general rule. The Presiding Officer starts counting immediately after the poll closes in the presence of candidates or their agents. Officials reject ballots without the official mark, with unclear or multiple marks, with extra marks or with an identifying attachment. They prepare the count statement and ballot-paper account, seal the packets and give copies to agents who are present. The Returning Officer consolidates station results and timely postal ballots and can correct a ballot wrongly excluded at station level. A recount requires a reasonable written challenge or a direction from the Election Commission. The Returning Officer declares the candidate with the highest vote total and publishes a notice showing each candidate's votes. The return goes to the Election Commission, which publishes the returned candidate in the Official Gazette. Election records are retained for one year, and non-ballot documents can be inspected under prescribed fees and conditions. Only a candidate may challenge a parliamentary election through an election petition before the High Court Division. Possible outcomes include dismissal, declaring the returned candidate's election void, declaring another candidate elected or voiding the election. An appeal may reach the Appellate Division within 30 days if leave is granted. Current court directions can delay a seat's result or Gazette publication. If polling is interrupted or cannot fairly continue, the Presiding Officer may stop or adjourn it, and the Election Commission may order a fresh poll; all eligible electors vote again and earlier votes are not counted.