This is the first election since the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government in 2024, and the outcome will determine the composition of the country's new government.
Additionally, the election will address the possibility of a national referendum, considered a crucial step toward Bangladesh's democratic future.
Although elections are typically held every five years, this is Bangladesh's 13th parliamentary election and takes place just 26 months after the previous one.
Fifty political parties are taking part in the election, but the main contest is expected to be between two major alliances: one led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the other by the Islamic Congress of Bangladesh, a party that split from the banned terrorist organization Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan in 1979.
Polling stations across the country opened at 07:30 local time (06:30 IST) and will remain open until 16:30 local time (15:30 IST). Over 42,000 polling stations are operating under the strict supervision of security forces, including more than one million military personnel and law enforcement officers.
To ensure order during the voting process, the Bangladesh government has also implemented restrictions on road traffic. The movement of motorcycles has been banned nationwide from February 10 to 13, while the transportation of goods, microbuses, and taxis is temporarily halted on election day.
For the first time since 2008, these elections are being monitored by an extensive contingent of both local and international observers. A total of 335 international monitors from 40 countries, as well as eight representatives from international organizations, are overseeing the process to ensure fairness and transparency.