In a statement, Sheikh Hasina claimed that there were no voters at the polling stations across Bangladesh, yet there were votes on the counting tables.

This comes a day after Hasina attacked the 2026 Bangladesh elections in an X post from the Awami League, calling the polls a 'well-planned farce'

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by the son of a former prime minister was projected to form the next government as the South Asian nation on Thursday held its first election since mass protests toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2024.

Voters across Bangladesh were electing members to parliament, 18 months after anti-government protests forced the previous administration from office.

The BNP has been vocal in demanding Hasina’s return. Senior party leaders have described the matter as both a legal obligation and a question of national sovereignty.

Highlights: Bangladesh polls were held on Thursday, February 12, more than a year after the country was rattled by protests and violence in 2024 which led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.| India News

The election comes at a pivotal moment in Bangladesh’s political transition, following the death of former Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia. Meanwhile, Hasina’s Awami League remains banned from participating in the political process.

Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has demanded the cancellation of the "voterless, illegal and unconstitutional" election in Bangladesh in her first statement after the polls concluded.

The circumstances of Awami League's absence is a first for the party which has governed Bangladesh for over two decades.

Sheikh Hasina rejected Bangladesh’s parliamentary election as illegal and fraudulent, accusing authorities of manipulation, while unofficial results showed Tarique Rahman’s BNP winning a landslide amid political upheaval after 2024 protests.