2,000 candidates in the race for Bangladesh's national election

Campaigning for Bangladesh's 13th parliamentary election began nationwide Thursday, as thousands of candidates in a neck-and-neck race canvassed voters ahead of the Feb. 12 polls, which will coincide with a referendum. 

With nearly 2,000 candidates in the race, including 1,732 from 51 registered political parties, the campaign has moved into a phase of direct voter contact: door-to-door canvassing, neighborhood walks, street rallies, and mass public meetings. 

Bangladesh's Election Commission (EC) has set the campaign schedule to end 48 hours before voting begins on Feb. 12. 

The candidates competing for the South Asian country's 300 parliamentary seats include 288 from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), 224 from the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, 32 from the National Citizen Party (NCP), 192 from the Jatiya Party and 249 independent candidates, according to the Bangladesh's Election Commission.

This time, Bangladesh's general election is different from past ones because voters will not merely choose their representatives but also vote in a referendum on important constitutional reforms. These changes are aimed at strengthening the country's democratic system and rebalancing powers within the government.

As election campaigning commenced on Thursday, major parties, including the BNP, Jamaat, and the NCP, all held major rallies in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country to mark their official launch.

The Bangladesh election authorities last month said that more than 127 million voters had been registered for the election for the first time since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country in August 2024.

Reporter Salim Reza