Bangladesh Elections 2026: Awami League and Sheikh Hasina’s ‘Boat’ Symbol Missing From Ballot After 30 Years
For the first time in 30 years, the Awami League, Bangladesh’s legacy political party, is absent from the ballot as the nation heads to general elections. Dhaka will vote on Thursday in a pivotal poll that will determine the country’s direction as it emerges from nearly two years of political upheaval. Thursday’s election also represents the first since the 2024 student-led movement that overthrew the Sheikh Hasina government, forcing the former prime minister to flee to India.
The Awami League stands as one of Bangladesh’s oldest political parties, co-founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, former president and prime minister, and father of Sheikh Hasina.
In the wake of mass unrest in Bangladesh following the ‘Gen-Z’ movement, Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League government faced intense scrutiny over its violent crackdown on protesters.
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Under this scrutiny, the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus banned all party activities for the Awami League on May 12, 2025. Shortly after, the Bangladesh Election Commission suspended the party’s registration, preventing it from operating in the country.
Though this is not the first instance of the Awami League being absent from the ballot, it marks a historic moment for the party that has ruled Bangladesh for over two decades. What distinguishes the 2026 polls is that the absence stems from the party being banned. The Yunus government’s ban on Awami League’s registration was set to remain in effect until trials at the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal (BD-ICT) concluded.
In November 2025, Hasina was tried in absentia and sentenced to death. The charges against her and two other officials from the Awami League government relate to allegations including enforced disappearances, killings, people being burned alive, illegal detention, inhuman torture, looting, arson and crimes against humanity. As a result of this verdict, the Awami League found itself barred from contesting the elections.