This week Bangladeshis are heading to the polls, which will see the country elect a new leader having swept long-serving president Sheikh Hasina from power after 15 consecutive years in power. It is an uncertain situation in Bangladesh with the Awami League the party that dominated politics barred from contesting the election.
This is leading to a race between the Islamist political party, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Bangladeshi National Party to determine who will lead the government, following a period of interim government following the student protests that ended Hasina’s presidency.
Stephen Hill spoke to Dr Lutfun Nahar Lata from the Murdoch University to provide an overview of the upcoming election in the eighth most populous nation.
Image: Shutterstock asset id: 2732910241 Banners of the election candidates hang over a street during the general election campaign in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on January 31, 2026
Produced By: Stephen Hill
Featured In Story: Dr Dr Lutfun Nahar Lata, Senior Lecturer in Asian Cultures and Societies in the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Murdoch University
First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 11 February 2026