Last Updated on February 11, 2026 11:46 pm by BIZNAMA NEWS
Results Expected Friday
Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Voting for Bangladesh’s 13th Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) election and a nationwide referendum will be held on Thursday, February 12, triggering wide discussion on when the results will be available. This is the first time the country is conducting a parliamentary election and a referendum simultaneously, and the Election Commission (EC) has already indicated that counting and result declaration will take longer than usual.
The Election Commission expects to begin publishing results on Friday morning, the day after polling. However, former election and administrative officials believe that the complete results may only be available by Friday afternoon.
With the parliamentary election and referendum being held together, officials will have to count two ballot papers per voter, along with postal ballots. After counting at polling centres, constituency-wise consolidated results will be announced from the offices of returning officers. The final announcements will then be made from the Results Collection and Dissemination Centre set up at the Election Commission Secretariat.
Election Commissioner Mohammad Anwarul Islam Sarkar said the commission hopes to declare results as quickly as possible after voting ends. “God willing, we hope to announce the results as soon as possible after the election. We are expecting that the results may be announced in the first half of the day on the 13th,” he said.
EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the commission expects counting to be completed by 10 am on Friday, February 13. “There is no reason for the results to be delayed. Every ballot will be counted. Voting will begin at 7.30 am on February 12, and counting will be completed by 10 am the next day,” he said.
The EC secretary had earlier, on January 23, acknowledged that counting would take longer this time. “This time voters will cast votes on two ballots. Along with that, there is the counting of postal ballots. For this reason, counting will take more time than usual,” he said.
He also noted that returning officers may need additional time to announce results, particularly if they are responsible for more than one constituency. “With postal ballots and the referendum together, counting will take a bit more time, and everyone needs to take that into consideration. Counting at the centres will be completed first, but counting of postal ballots at the returning officer’s office will take time. If a returning officer has multiple constituencies, it will take even longer,” Akhtar Ahmed said.
Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah said on Tuesday that the results of the parliamentary election and the referendum would be announced together. “Counting will start at the same time and results will be declared together. Otherwise, if parliamentary results are announced first, agents may leave, and if the referendum results are announced earlier, it could create unrest outside. We do not want either situation. We want both announced together,” he said.
Bangladesh’s first referendum in 1977 took about 30 hours for the results to be announced. This time, both a parliamentary election and a referendum are being held together, with the number of voters rising to around 130 million. Voting will take place at 42,761 polling centres across the country.
Jasmine Tuli, former additional secretary at the Election Commission Secretariat and a member of the Election System Reform Commission, said it could take until Friday afternoon to get the full results. “Based on the explanation given by the Election Commission, the most likely scenario is that the results will come by Friday afternoon. Normally, by around 10 am the next day, results from many constituencies are available. This time, it may take until Friday afternoon to announce all the results,” she said.
Bangladesh last held a referendum in 1991. At that time, former secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumder was serving as the executive officer of Singair upazila in Manikganj district and later worked in several parliamentary elections. He said the current exercise would be more time-consuming. “Since 1991, the population has increased significantly. And because political parties are involved in the referendum, they are working in full swing. As a result, turnout may be higher this time,” he said.
He explained that when ballots for the election and the referendum are placed in the same box, they must first be separated. “That itself takes time. Each ballot has to be opened, checked and separated,” he said.
Noting that parliamentary election counts often continue until midnight, Majumder added, “In my view, each centre may require an additional two to three hours, or even three to four hours. Completing everything may take until Friday noon or afternoon. Only then will the results be known.”
