Bangladesh is set to hold its national election and referendum on 12 February, with voting scheduled across 42,779 polling stations nationwide.

The Election Commission (EC) confirmed that these polling stations will be supported by 247,482 polling booths to accommodate the country’s 127,711,793 registered voters. Of these, 64,825,361 are male, 62,885,200 female, and 1,232 transgender.

“The final number of polling stations is 42,779 and that of polling booths is 247,482 in the referendum and 13th parliamentary election,” EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said on Wednesday.

A total of 785,225 polling staff will be deployed across the country, including 42,779 presiding officers, 247,482 assistant presiding officers, and 494,964 polling officers.

The EC also released the final statistics on candidates contesting the national election. 

According to the commission, 2,017 candidates are running in the 300 constituencies.

The elections, which will decide the 13th parliament of Bangladesh, are expected to draw widespread participation, with the authorities emphasising preparedness and security across the polling centres.