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Bangladeshi voters person endorsed sweeping antiauthoritarian reforms successful a nationalist referendum, the Election Commission said connected Friday (February 13, 2026), a cardinal pillar of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus’s post-uprising modulation agenda.
The referendum took spot alongside parliamentary elections connected Thursday (February 12) that marked the archetypal ballot since a 2024 uprising ended Sheikh Hasina’s iron-fisted 15-year rule.
Bangladesh predetermination results LIVE
According to the commission, 60.2% of voters backed the betterment package.
The lengthy document, known arsenic the “July Charter” aft the period erstwhile the uprising that toppled Ms. Hasina began, proposes word limits for premier ministers, the instauration of an precocious location of parliament, stronger statesmanlike powers and greater judicial independence.
It besides includes accrued practice of women successful parliament and the predetermination of the lawman talker and parliamentary committee chairs from the opposition.
Mr. Yunus, who took complaint arsenic interim person aft what helium described arsenic a “completely broken” governmental system, championed the betterment blueprint arsenic indispensable to preventing a instrumentality to authoritarianism.
The referendum question noted that support would marque the charter “binding connected the parties that win” the election, obliging them to endorse it.
However, respective parties raised notes of dissent earlier the vote, and the reforms volition inactive necessitate ratification by the caller parliament.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured a landslide triumph successful the elections, winning a bulk of much than two-thirds of the disposable seats.
Senior BNP person Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the enactment volition instrumentality the parts of the charter it agreed on.
“We volition instrumentality the parts of the July Consensus that we person signed connected a precedence basis,” helium told reporters connected Friday.
“We besides person our 31-point agenda, which volition beryllium implemented gradually.”
Ali Riaz, vice-chairman of the Consensus Commission that led rounds of marathon talks with parties to hold connected the charter, welcomed the result.
“Through their ‘yes’ votes, the radical of Bangladesh person intelligibly expressed their tendency for reforms,” helium told AFP.
“The work present lies with the governmental parties to instrumentality these reforms. We sincerely anticipation they volition respect the people’s mandate and uphold the charter.”
