The country appears set for a long-awaited return to a credible, free and fair national vote, with the Election Commission (EC) indicating that the 13th parliamentary election and a simultaneous referendum will be held between 8 and 12 February.

The development follows three successive elections marred by rigging under the previous fascist Awami League administration, with public expectations surging since its fall on 5 August 2024 and the interim government vowing to hold the most credible and celebratory polls the country has seen.

Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar confirmed on Tuesday that the polls would take place “sometime between 8 and 12 February”, adding that the final date could fall “a day or two after the 8th or a day or two before the 12th”.

With 8 February being a Sunday and 12 February a Thursday, he suggested that a Tuesday was emerging as the most likely option.

The commission will meet on 7 December to finalise the election schedule, with the formal announcement expected two or three days later – potentially on 11 December.

Extended voting hours and dual ballots

For the first time, voters will cast ballots for a parliamentary election and a national referendum on the same day, prompting the EC to consider extending voting hours by one hour to ease congestion.

Anwarul Islam said voting could run from 7.30am to 4.30pm, instead of the usual 8am to 4pm. Additional secret voting booths are also being considered to manage crowding.

Preparations largely complete

The EC says preparations for the twin votes are nearing completion. Printing of 34,000 nomination forms, hundreds of thousands of other forms, ID cards and election packets has already been finished.

A total of 255.4 million ballot papers will be printed – matching the number of registered voters and covering both the parliamentary election and the referendum. Officials stress that no surplus ballots will be produced.

According to EC data, Bangladesh now has 127,695,183 registered voters: 64.814 million men, 62.879 million women and 1,234 third-gender voters.

EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said domestic ballots are being printed at the Government Press, while those for expatriate voters are being produced at the Army Security Press.

“All printing will be completed soon,” he said, adding that the senior secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration has been asked to personally supervise the work. The Postal Department has also been instructed to arrange inspections at ballot-sorting centres in Tejgaon and near the airport.

Mock voting and logistics

A nationwide mock voting exercise was conducted on Saturday to test identification procedures, ballot stamping, casting and time management. Preliminary findings show that increasing the number of secret booths would ease pressure on polling stations. Final results of the assessment will be released later.

The EC has so far finalised 42,761 polling centres across the country, housing 244,649 polling booths – 129,602 designated for women and 115,137 for men.

Officials say additional preparations, including more ballot papers, extra booths and increased budgeting, became necessary after the government formally instructed the commission to hold a referendum alongside the parliamentary election.