The Election Commission (EC) has finalized arrangements for holding the referendum alongside the 13th National Parliamentary Election, introducing two separate ballot papers to be cast into a single ballot box.
According to the EC’s decision, the referendum ballot paper will be pink, while the parliamentary election ballot paper will be white. Voters will use a seal to cast their votes on both ballots and place them together in the same ballot box. Although voters will receive two different ballots, there will be only one ballot box at each polling center.
For postal voting, a different method will apply. Voters will mark their choice on the referendum ballot by placing a tick (✓) or cross (✗) in the designated box next to ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
Both the 13th National Parliamentary Election and the referendum will be held on the same day—12 February 2026. Polling will take place continuously from 7:30am to 4:30pm.
Following the announcement of the election schedule, the EC issued a detailed circular outlining all procedures related to the referendum. The circular covers the referendum question, polling timetable, appointment of returning and polling officers, voting procedures, vote counting, result preparation and publication, result consolidation, and gazette notification. The circular, signed by Deputy Secretary Mohammad Monir Hossain of the EC Secretariat’s Election Management-2 Wing, has been sent to the Cabinet Division and other relevant ministries and departments.
Referendum Question:
The referendum will be conducted through a secret ballot to determine whether voters agree with the implementation of the “July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, 2025” and the constitutional reform proposals outlined in the July National Charter. These include:
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Formation of the caretaker government, the Election Commission, and other constitutional bodies in line with the procedures set out in the July Charter;
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Establishment of a bicameral parliament, with a 100-member upper house formed in proportion to the votes received by political parties, and requiring majority approval of the upper house for constitutional amendments;
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Mandatory implementation by winning political parties of 30 agreed reform issues, including increased women’s representation in parliament, election of the deputy speaker and committee chairs from the opposition, fundamental rights, judicial independence, local government reforms, term limits of the prime minister, and presidential powers;
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Implementation of other reforms mentioned in the July Charter in accordance with political parties’ commitments.
Officials and Vote Counting:
No separate rules have been framed for the referendum despite the issuance of the Referendum Ordinance. All activities—from polling to result publication—will be conducted in line with the EC circular. The same returning officers, assistant returning officers, and polling officials appointed for the parliamentary election will also oversee the referendum, using the same polling centers and voter list. The total number of voters is estimated at nearly 130 million.
After voting ends, presiding officers will open the ballot boxes in the presence of candidates’ agents, if present. Parliamentary election ballots will be counted candidate-wise, while referendum ballots will be separated and counted as ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ votes.
