Bangladesh will hold national polls on February 12 next year, its electoral commission announced Thursday, the country's first since a student-led uprising toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said in a television broadcast that a national referendum on political reforms would also be held on the same day as voting to elect 300 lawmakers.

The country’s last elections were held in January 2024, when Hasina returned to office for the fourth consecutive time. The 2024 elections were controversial and boycotted by major rivals of Hasina who accused her administration of rigging the vote.

Hasina fled the country to India on August 5 last year in the wake of huge protests, and she has been in exile since.

An interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has been running the country since August 8 2024.

The Yunus-led administration has banned all activities of Hasina’s Awami League party, which means the former ruling party would not be able to join the race.

Hasina's party demanded the withdrawal of the ban, and her son, in an interview with the Associated Press, had said earlier that Bangladesh could be stabilised if an inclusive election is held. (AFP, AP)