Updated 13 February 2026 at 23:02 IST
'Carefully Orchestrated Sham': Sheikh Hasina Demands Annulation Of Bangladesh Elections
Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for the annulation of the recently-concluded Bangladesh elections, which she called a "numerical fraud" and a "sham election" orchestrated under the "illegal" administration of Muhammad Yunus.
Dhaka: Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for the annulation of the recently-concluded Bangladesh elections, which she called a "numerical fraud" and a "sham election" orchestrated under the "illegal" administration of Muhammad Yunus.
'Disgraceful Chapter In History'
Sheikh Hasina said that on 12 February, Bangladesh witnessed a pre-planned election of deception and farce, one that will be recorded as a "disgraceful chapter" in Bangladesh's democratic history. She added, “This was not an election of public will; it was an industrial-scale administrative exercise in manipulating numbers…Serious irregularities were observed, both in the conduct of voting and in the turnout percentages released in stages by the Election Commission, many of which appeared inconsistent and unrealistic.”
She further noted, “Voting began at 7:30 a.m…According to the Commission's first briefing, by 11:00 a.m. the first 3 hours and 30 minutes-14.96% of votes had been cast, equivalent to 19,105,684 ballots. That would mean an average of 90,979 votes per minute. In the next briefing, turnout by 12:00 noon was announced as 32.88%. That means between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon alone, 17.92% of votes were cast-22,880,350 ballots an average of roughly 381,339 votes per minute. This rate is several times higher than the earlier average and is highly abnormal.”
Pointing at an “abnormal surge” in the number of voters in a single hour, Hasina said, “Anyone familiar with Bangladesh's voting history knows that turnout typically moves fastest in the morning, especially before 11 a.m. Yet only 14.96% turnout was recorded during that period, followed by a sudden leap to 32.88% by noon an abnormal surge within a single hour.”
‘No Voters, Yet Votes Counted’
Sheikh Hasina also alleged that the overall vote count presented by the Election Commission does not match the reality reported across the country. She said, "There were no voters at the polling stations, yet there were votes on the counting tables!"
Published By : Nidhi Sinha
Published On: 13 February 2026 at 22:33 IST