Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman submitted his nomination papers on Monday (December 29, 2025) for the upcoming elections.

The papers were filed around 12:00 p.m. on Monday (December 29) at the office of the Dhaka Divisional Commissioner in Segunbagicha, the Daily Star reported.

Abdus Salam, BNP chairperson’s adviser, accompanied by Professor Dr. Farhad Halim Donar, Chief Advisor of the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), submitted the nomination on Mr. Rahman’s behalf.

Mr. Rahman will contest the February 12 election from the Dhaka-17 constituency. Today is the final day for the submission of nomination papers for the 13th National Parliamentary Election.

Speaking at a briefing, Mr. Salam expressed gratitude to all, saying city residents warmly welcomed Mr. Rahman after 17 years in exile.

He added that they expect the people of Dhaka-17 to spontaneously cast their votes for him in the February 12 election.

On Sunday (December 28), Bangladesh’s Election Commission approved the inclusion of Mr. Rahman in the voter list weeks ahead of the polls.

A day earlier, the 60-year-old leader of the BNP visited the Election Commission (EC) office in Dhaka and provided fingerprints and iris scans for biometric enrolment. He had earlier submitted his voter registration application online.

Son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Mr. Rahman, and his daughter Zamia completed all necessary procedures for voter registration and the issuance of a National Identity Card (NID) at the EC on Saturday (December 27).

Now, after inclusion in the voter list, a new NID number will be generated for him and his daughter.

Bangladesh first introduced a voter list with photographs and biometric data in 2008. Mr. Rahman, who was a political prisoner then, left for London on September 11, 2008, after his release. As the BNP leader was abroad at the time, he was not included in the voter list.

Ending his self-exile of 17 years, the BNP leader returned to Bangladesh from London on December 25 to take over the reins of his party even as his mother, Khaleda Zia, is in “extremely critical” condition at a Dhaka hospital.

Popular revolts do not necessarily lead to democratic rule. More than a year after the student uprising in July 2024, Bangladesh is still ruled by an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus that seems hesitant to hold elections. and certainly not in a free and fair manner. A hostage to unelected pressure groups, Mr. Yunus provided some visibility of elections by February 2026, while speaking on the anniversary of Sheikh Hasina’s ouster as Prime Minister on August 5, 2025. But the Awami League is barred from contesting, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is derided as belonging to the old order. The student-led National Citizen Party and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, its politics regressive at best, are calling the shots in this tumultuous period.

Chatter about burying the Constitution worsens the political uncertainty and does not inspire confidence about a democratic transition. Also, attacks on religious minorities have added another dimension to Bangladesh’s problems in the post-Hasina phase.

This ebook, ‘Bangladesh: ahead of elections 2026’, captures the current state of affairs in this troubled country, analysing the student movement that is supposed to have led a Gen Z Revolution, the ties with India dominated by disputes over sharing river water, and the path ahead to have an elected government in place.