Bangladeshi voters endorse sweeping democratic reforms in national referendum

Bangladeshi voters have endorsed sweeping democratic reforms in a national referendum, the Election Commission said on Friday (February 13, 2026), a key pillar of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus’s post-uprising transition agenda.

The referendum took place alongside parliamentary elections on Thursday (February 12) that marked the first vote since a 2024 uprising ended Sheikh Hasina’s iron-fisted 15-year rule.

Bangladesh election results LIVE

According to the commission, 60.2% of voters backed the reform package.

The lengthy document, known as the “July Charter” after the month when the uprising that toppled Ms. Hasina began, proposes term limits for prime ministers, the creation of an upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence.

It also includes increased representation of women in parliament and the election of the deputy speaker and parliamentary committee chairs from the opposition.

Mr. Yunus, who took charge as interim leader after what he described as a “completely broken” political system, championed the reform blueprint as essential to preventing a return to authoritarianism.

The referendum question noted that approval would make the charter “binding on the parties that win” the election, obliging them to endorse it.

However, several parties raised notes of dissent before the vote, and the reforms will still require ratification by the new parliament.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured a landslide victory in the elections, winning a majority of more than two-thirds of the available seats.

Senior BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the party will implement the parts of the charter it agreed on.

“We will implement the parts of the July Consensus that we have signed on a priority basis,” he told reporters on Friday.

“We also have our 31-point agenda, which will be implemented gradually.”

Ali Riaz, vice-chairman of the Consensus Commission that led rounds of marathon talks with parties to agree on the charter, welcomed the result.

“Through their ‘yes’ votes, the people of Bangladesh have clearly expressed their desire for reforms,” he told AFP.

“The responsibility now lies with the political parties to implement these reforms. We sincerely hope they will respect the people’s mandate and uphold the charter.”