Seventy-year-old Abu Bakkar has by no means solid his vote for any image aside from the Awami League (AL)’s “Boat”. A life-long supporter of the occasion, he by no means imagined a nationwide election with out it. But on February 12, Bangladesh will go to the polls with the Awami League (AL) barred from contesting, following a crackdown after the mass rebellion that ousted occasion president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ended the occasion’s 15-year rule.
“I’ve by no means solid my poll for any image aside from the AL’s Boat in my lifetime,” he stated. “The occasion is barred from this election, however I nonetheless intend to vote. I don’t know if I can vote within the subsequent election, as I’m already previous.”
Mr. Bakkar declined to say which occasion or candidate he would vote for, although he stated a number of candidates had approached him searching for assist. “I’ve not but determined, however I’ll go and solid my vote,” he stated.
Following the dramatic fall of the Awami League, most of its senior leaders have both fled the nation or stay in jail. With the occasion barred from the election, its conventional vote financial institution has been left politically adrift. In 2001, the AL received its lowest-ever tally of 62 seats within the 300-member parliament, regardless of securing greater than two crore votes, when the citizens stood at simply over seven crore. Within the extensively regarded free and honest 2008 election, the occasion received almost 3.5 crore votes as a part of the Grand Alliance, with simply over eight crore registered voters. Bangladesh’s present voter base exceeds 12.7 crore.
With the Awami League out of the fray, a big section of its former supporters stays undecided—an element that might show decisive as former allies Bangladesh Nationalist Celebration (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami contest in opposition to one another.
Sources inside the Awami League stated the occasion stays unsure about its election technique. Though it introduced a boycott, there was little mobilisation on the bottom. Grassroots activists stated the absence of clear directions has left supporters confused about whether or not the occasion needs the election to proceed and energy to switch from the interim authorities, which they accuse of finishing up a harsh crackdown over the previous 18 months.
A frontrunner of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the scholar wing of Awami League, and vice-president of a college unit, who requested anonymity citing worry of reprisal and has seven circumstances filed in opposition to him, instructed The Hindu from an African nation the place he has taken refuge that he obtained no directions to discourage voting.
“I didn’t vote by postal poll whereas overseas,” he stated. “However I additionally didn’t inform my members of the family something about taking part within the election. I didn’t intervene as a result of my occasion didn’t instruct us to hinder the polls.”
A nationwide survey carried out collectively by the Communication and Analysis Basis and Bangladesh Election and Public Opinion Research discovered that greater than 90% of voters intend to vote within the upcoming election, whereas round 8% stay undecided. Amongst those that beforehand voted for the Awami League, 48.2% stated they might now vote for the BNP, and 29.9% favoured Jamaat-e-Islami.
Political analysts say the Awami League presently lacks the organisational energy to stop the election. Most senior leaders are both jailed or in exile, whereas these remaining face a number of circumstances and are disorganised. Analysts additionally level to the occasion’s lack of ethical authority following the killing of protesters through the July 2024 rebellion. Nevertheless, they observe that the occasion retains vital grassroots assist, which may nonetheless affect the end result.
Based on Transparency Worldwide Bangladesh (TIB), 1,785 circumstances had been filed nationwide in opposition to AL activists and supporters as of November 19, 2025. Sheikh Hasina has been named as an accused in 663 circumstances, together with 453 homicide circumstances. Chargesheets have been submitted in 106 circumstances, together with 31 homicide circumstances, whereas at the least 128 people, together with former Ministers and MPs, have been arrested. As well as, 761 circumstances have been filed in opposition to police personnel, naming 1,168 officers as accused.
The Awami League has lengthy demanded the dissolution of the interim authorities and elections below a impartial, all-party administration. With polling solely three days away, Sheikh Hasina reiterated her name for a boycott, echoed by 5 Awami League–aligned skilled organisations. Nevertheless, no large-scale public mobilisation in favour of the boycott or obstruction has been seen.
AFM Bahauddin Nasim, joint normal secretary of the Awami League, instructed The Hindu on Sunday (February 8, 2026) that the occasion has boycotted the election and instructed its supporters to not vote. He claimed that not solely occasion supporters but in addition normal voters would reject what he described as a “motivated and non-inclusive” election.
Requested whether or not the occasion had instructed activists to hinder polling on February 12, he stated the Awami League doesn’t consider in violence. He alleged that BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami activists have been pressuring Awami League supporters to attend polling centres. “These elections is not going to be accepted by the folks or the worldwide neighborhood,” he stated.
Shahadat Shadhin, a political analyst and analysis scholar at South Asian College, instructed The Hindu that the absence of Awami League leaders from public life has weakened the occasion’s management over its supporters.
“Even when the Awami League boycotts the election, lots of its supporters will nonetheless vote,” he stated. He stated that their votes are more likely to be divided primarily between the BNP and Jamaat. Many voters anticipate an elected authorities to stabilise Bangladesh’s democratic trajectory. For the Awami League too, political engagement could also be extra possible with an elected authorities than with a purely interim association.”
Printed – February 08, 2026 07:33 pm IST