Around 127 million registered voters are casting their ballots today (February 12, 2026) in Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary elections and a referendum on constitutional reforms. Nearly all major international election observation groups, along with several bilateral delegations and domestic observers, are present in the country to observe the polls.

The Bangladesh Election Commission (BEC) formally invited international observer organizations, foreign election management bodies, bilateral missions, and foreign media representatives to observe the elections. Applications closed in mid-January 2026. BEC also issued ‘Guidelines for International Election Observers and Foreign Media 2025’.

Which int’l observer missions are in Bangladesh?

European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) for Bangladesh comprises 157 observers including 11-member Core Team, 56 Long Term Observers, and 90 Short Term Observers. Additionally, the EOM is reinforced by observers from diplomatic missions accredited in Bangladesh and members of the EU Parliament. The members of EOM are taken from 27 EU member states, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and Canada.

Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is the second largest observation mission with 22 observers and electoral analysts covering the electoral process across the all division of the country.

Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) comprises 13 representatives led by the by Nana Akufo-Addo, former President of Ghana.

The Washington-based U.S. non-profit National Democratic Institute has sent one observer while International Republication Institute (IRI) has deployed 19-member group to observer the polls in Bangladesh.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has deployed 63 observers for the election observation.

Additionally, 32 observers representing multiple organizations Voice for Justice, Democracy International, SNAS Africa, the SAARC Human Rights Foundation, and the Polish Institute of International Affairs are also observing the election in their individual capacities.

How many domestic observers are deployed?

According to the Bangladesh Election Commission, 55,454 observers from 81 local organizations are also observing the electoral process.

Which countries have sent official delegations to Bangladesh?

In addition to the multilateral observer groups, country observer delegations from 19 countries including Pakistan are also in Bangladesh to see the electoral processes. As many 13-member delegation of Türkiye; 11-member group of Sri Lanka; eight officials from Pakistan; six from Malaysia; four each from Japan and Nigeria; three each from Indonesia, Iran, and China; two each from Bhutan, Philippines, Jordan, Georgia, Russia, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and South Africa; and one from Nepal are observing February 12 polls.