15 Nov 2023
Bangladesh will hold parliamentary elections on January 7, its Election Commission has announced, as deadly protests by opposition parties demanding the prime minister’s resignation have rocked the country.
“The 12th parliamentary election will be held on January 7 in 300 seats,” Chief Election Commissioner Habibul Awal said on Wednesday in a live television broadcast, urging parties to hold talks to resolve the political crisis.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), whose top leaders are either jailed or in exile, has already said it will boycott the polls if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina does not resign and transfer power to a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee the general election.