‘It matters’: Can Bangladeshi voters in Britain impact country’s election? | Bangladesh Election 2026

London, United Kingdom — Behind the fluorescent-lit glass counters, silver trays of singhara — also called samosa — biryani and hash browns sit facet by facet. Two males in forest-green polo shirts, the cafe’s customary uniform, transfer briskly between the grill and the until, taking orders because the lunchtime crowd thickens, then thins once more.

Inside Casablanca Cafe, the scrape of faux-leather chairs combined with low dialog competes with site visitors and the occasional siren on Whitechapel Highway.

Some clients hurry by plates of hen curry and rice throughout brief breaks from close by places of work; others linger over fried eggs, beans and toast, chatting earlier than heading subsequent door for prayers at East London Mosque.

At a worn wood desk within the centre of the room, Khaled Noor cradles a tall glass of ginger and honey tea. For months now, he says, Bangladesh’s upcoming election has been a relentless subject of dialog.

“For the reason that elections had been announced,” Noor, a barrister and political scientist, stated, “folks haven’t stopped speaking about it.”

An extended-awaited vote

The vote, scheduled for February 12, can be Bangladesh’s first nationwide election because the elimination of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and the primary in almost twenty years anticipated to function real competitors. It follows years of tightly managed polls, opposition boycotts and allegations of repression underneath Hasina that left many citizens at residence disillusioned and deepened frustration amongst Bangladeshis abroad who had lengthy been excluded from the poll.

Bangladesh’s politics has lengthy been formed by rivalry between the Awami League, led for years by Hasina, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Occasion (BNP), based by former navy ruler Ziaur Rahman and later led by his widow, Khaleda Zia. Below Hasina, Bangladesh noticed fast financial development alongside deepening accusations of authoritarianism and repression.

The BNP, sidelined for a lot of the previous decade, is searching for to reassert itself underneath the management of Khaleda Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman. Supporters painting Rahman, who spent 17 years in exile in London, as an emblem of resistance to one-party dominance; critics level to previous convictions and accusations of corruption. The election would be the first since Khaleda Zia’s death in December, lending extra emotional and symbolic weight to the competition.

In the meantime, the interim administration underneath Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which took cost after Hasina’s ouster, has banned her Awami League from electoral politics.

Amid all of that flux, Bangladeshis residing overseas have, for the primary time, received the best to vote. “For years we’ve been campaigning for this second,” Noor stated. “Folks needed recognition.”

However at neighbouring tables within the cafe, a number of folks decline to talk, cautious of sharing political opinions publicly. Noor, a former native councillor, stated some Bangladeshi residents within the UK who’re technically eligible to vote however lack safe immigration standing are among the many most cautious.

“They’re watching the elections very intently,” he stated, “however they don’t need to draw consideration to themselves.”

For many years, abroad Bangladeshis, regardless of sending billions of dollars residence in remittances, had no formal say in nationwide elections. Campaigners argued that excluding the diaspora was each undemocratic and politically expedient, significantly as many Bangladeshis overseas had left amid political violence or repression.

Following sustained strain, electoral authorities expanded abroad voter registration, permitting expatriates to take part remotely for the primary time. In accordance with Bangladeshi election authorities, greater than seven million expatriates worldwide have registered since abroad voting was launched — making them a considerable 5 p.c of the entire voters of about 127 million.  Bangladesh’s election authorities estimate there are roughly 15 million Bangladeshis residing overseas in all.

In the UK, nonetheless, simply over 32,000 Bangladeshi residents are registered to vote, a modest determine given the scale of the broader neighborhood. In accordance with the 2021 census, about 645,000 people in England and Wales determine as Bangladeshi or British Bangladeshi, with the most important focus in East London. In Tower Hamlets alone, Bangladeshis make up almost 35 p.c of residents, with vital communities additionally in Newham, and Barking and Dagenham.

The disparity highlights a central rigidity operating by the diaspora: cultural identification doesn’t all the time align with citizenship or eligibility. These demographics assist clarify why occasions in Bangladesh ripple so strongly by on a regular basis life in East London, however they don’t assure political engagement.

Some analysts level out that expatriate Bangladeshis may nonetheless be vital in shut contests. Bangladesh’s election authorities estimate that in some constituencies abroad voters might characterize almost a fifth of registered voters, a share that could influence outcomes in a first-past-the-post system.

In apply, nonetheless, eligibility to vote is proscribed to Bangladeshi residents holding a nationwide identification card (NID). Many British Bangladeshis, significantly these born within the UK,  determine strongly with Bangladesh however don’t maintain citizenship paperwork and are subsequently excluded from the poll.

Bangladeshis have lived in Britain for greater than a century, however large-scale migration started solely within the mid-Twentieth century. Within the Fifties and Nineteen Sixties, financial hardship in what was then East Pakistan, mixed with labour shortages within the UK, drew Bengali males, many from Sylhet, to London and Birmingham.

The 1971 Liberation Conflict prompted one other wave, as folks fled political instability and sought work overseas. Household reunification adopted, reshaping neighbourhoods like Tower Hamlets within the a long time that adopted.

These layered histories assist clarify why occasions in Bangladesh proceed to ripple so strongly by on a regular basis life right here, however they don’t assure political engagement.

Between paperwork and disengagement

Earlier within the day, in Whitechapel Highway Market, two younger ladies browse a rack of brightly colored jalabiyas, pausing to verify the stitching. Requested concerning the election, they shrug. That they had heard older family members speaking about it, one stated, however it felt distant.

“It doesn’t have an effect on us, does it?” she requested. “We stay right here.” Politics in Britain, she added, felt extra urgent, mentioning Labour’s struggles and the rise of Reform.

Noor defined that such apathy was frequent amongst youthful British Bangladeshis. Years of disputed polls had left many hopeful however cautious, he stated, whereas sensible limitations had discouraged wider participation.

“To vote, you want a nationwide identification card, biometrics, after which one other digital course of by a cellular app,” he stated. “For many individuals, particularly older voters, it’s just too difficult.”

Patterns elsewhere underscore the distinction. Election commission figures present far larger participation in Gulf states, with greater than 239,000 registered voters in Saudi Arabia and about 76,000 in Qatar.

Again at his workplace in Tower Hamlets, Noor stated the distinction mirrored lived realities. Migrants within the Gulf are sometimes single males with households again residence and restricted political or social rights of their host international locations, conserving their ties to Bangladesh rapid and sensible. Within the UK and United States, against this, many Bangladeshis are settled with households, careers and youngsters, their each day considerations anchored firmly the place they stay.

That divide, between older migrants invested in occasions again residence and youthful British Bangladeshis rooted firmly within the UK, runs by conversations throughout East London.

A number of stated that they had registered to vote. Many arrived in Britain a long time in the past and nonetheless maintain Bangladeshi passports. For them, the election carries the load of reminiscence: of the Liberation Conflict, of years of navy rule, of elections that when felt both harmful or meaningless.

Above a comfort retailer on a facet avenue near the mosque, a slender, worn staircase results in the small workplace of Bangla Sanglap, a bilingual weekly newspaper. Its editor, Moshahid Ali, scrolls by messages from readers debating the election, correcting rumours and sharing registration info.

“Individuals are enthusiastic about having the best to vote,” he stated. “But it surely hasn’t been clear or easy.”

Many complained of restricted outreach by authorities, he added. The method itself put others off: the necessity for an NID card, biometric registration on the Excessive Fee with lengthy ready strains, adopted by an additional digital utility by a cellular app, a sequence of bureaucratic thickets that sap enthusiasm.

Some discovered about postal voting too late. One man stated he rushed to use for his NID card days earlier than the deadline, just for it to reach after registration closed.

Others stated the expertise itself proved daunting, significantly for older voters. “Every part is on apps now,” one older would-be voter stated. “If one thing goes flawed, who do you ask?”

Mizanur Khan, 44, a neighborhood volunteer and hijama (cupping remedy) practitioner, stated he needed to vote however missed the registration deadline. He’s now contemplating travelling to Bangladesh to vote in individual.

“There wasn’t sufficient consciousness,” he stated. “However the primary factor is free and truthful elections. If they’ll even handle that, Bangladesh has an opportunity.”

The Bangladesh Excessive Fee in London was contacted for remark, however didn’t reply.

Not everybody who may vote selected to. At {an electrical} items stall in Whitechapel Market, as February rain started to fall, Radwan Ahmed, 23, a scholar in London, stated he holds an NID card however determined to boycott the election. He described his choice as a protest towards what he sees as a compromised political course of, saying the ban on the Awami League had undermined the vote’s legitimacy.

Throughout the borough, the temper stays unsettled.

A person in his forties stated the election felt overdue. Bangladesh, he stated, had been run by the identical two events, and the identical households, for too lengthy. He didn’t need his title in print, however his eyes lit up when he spoke of change. “If change doesn’t occur now, then when will it occur?” For the primary time in Bangladesh’s electoral historical past, the Jamaat-e-Islami — the nation’s largest spiritual occasion — is a critical contender to win the vote. It’s in an alliance with the Nationwide Citizen Occasion (NCP), a gaggle fashioned by leaders of the student-led rebellion towards Hasina.

Britain’s political significance is underscored by the presence of influential figures on either side of Bangladesh’s political divide. Tarique Rahman’s lengthy exile in London stays a sore level amongst some who had been interviewed in East London. His UK presence didn’t essentially translate into belief or recognition. A number of folks described him as distant from on a regular basis neighborhood life, saying he hardly ever engaged past occasion circles.

“He’s only one man,” stated one voter who declined to be named. “A part of the identical system.” One other stated Rahman’s lengthy keep within the UK handed with out significant contact with working-class Bangladeshis. “He met elites in any other case; he remained hidden,” he stated. “There was no reference to folks like us.”

Britain can be residence to outstanding figures linked to the Awami League. Amongst them is Tulip Siddiq, a Labour MP and Hasina’s niece. Siddiq was recently sentenced in absentia to 2 years’ imprisonment and a 100,000 Bangladeshi taka ($818) high-quality by a Bangladeshi court docket, a transfer criticised by UK-based attorneys and rights teams as politically motivated, a declare Bangladeshi authorities reject.

A number of UK-based native politicians of Bangladeshi origin, together with Tower Hamlets councillors Sabina Khan and Ohid Ahmed, are additionally standing within the Bangladesh elections, drawing criticism each in Britain and in Bangladesh over questions of accountability and twin political loyalties.

The problem is additional difficult by Bangladesh’s strategy to dual nationality. Whereas twin citizenship is permitted in apply, constitutional provisions limit those that purchase overseas citizenship or pledge allegiance to a different nation from standing for parliament, a distinction that’s usually poorly understood.

Authorized consultants notice that underneath UK regulation, as an example, a declaration of renunciation have to be formally registered with the Dwelling Workplace earlier than it takes impact; till then, the applicant stays a British citizen.

“How a lot do they actually find out about politics again in Bangladesh in the event that they’ve been residing over right here?” one girl requested.

For many of these Al Jazeera spoke to, nonetheless, each day considerations, jobs, household, safety and life in Britain loomed far bigger than the intricacies of elite politics in Bangladesh.

Combined sentiments

These priorities grow to be clearer a couple of miles away, in one other a part of the borough.

On a quiet, tree-lined avenue minutes from the glass towers of Canary Wharf, the Isle of Canine Bangladeshi Affiliation and Cultural Centre sits nearly hidden beside the native library. As soon as a stronghold of far-right politics, the realm now displays a special chapter in East London’s migrant historical past.

Inside, a small group has gathered for tea and butter biscuits. Dialog drifts between translating paperwork, navigating an more and more digital world and plans for afternoon prayers.

Right here, too, the election is on folks’s minds.

Muhammad Saiful Miah, 44, who works within the emergency providers, stated he had not voted — as a result of he doesn’t have an NID card. However he’s following the election intently.

“The elections matter as a result of that’s the place my household comes from,” he stated. “I’m British and Bangladeshi, so after all I care.”

Throughout the room, Jahanara Begum, 58, from Cumilla close to Dhaka, talking in Bangla by a translator, stated she was “very completely happy” to have voted and had already despatched her postal poll.

“I waited years for this,” she says, palms wrapped round her teacup. “That is the primary time in a very long time it feels prefer it issues,” stated Begum, who arrived in Britain simply three years in the past.

As a former major faculty trainer and election monitor, she recalled travelling lengthy distances, generally 30km by rickshaw, to rely votes, usually lacking the prospect to solid her personal. The final time she voted, she stated, was in 1991.

She spoke vividly of the 2008 common election when the Awami League got here to energy. She claimed the outcomes recorded regionally had been later altered. “We noticed BNP successful in lots of areas, however the figures introduced had been completely different.”

Now residing in Britain, she nonetheless cares deeply concerning the consequence. “I’ve 4 kids there,” she stated. “It’s my nation. I would like peace. I would like them to be protected.”

Her pal, Romina Khatun, 69, who has lived within the UK since 1985 and has additionally voted, nodded in settlement. For her too, the election represents a tentative hope after years of violence and uncertainty.

However Romina’s daughter, Nargis Akhtar, 45, who volunteers because the centre’s supervisor, stays unconvinced. Born in Sylhet however raised in London, she didn’t vote and doesn’t have an NID card.

Akhtar grew up in a politically engaged family. She remembers listening to the names Khaleda Zia, Sheikh Hasina and Hussain Muhammad Ershad — a navy ruler who led Bangladesh for a lot of the Nineteen Eighties — spoken with depth. “I will need to have been seven or eight,” she stated, laughing, recalling a political cartoon that when enraged her father. “I didn’t even know who Ershad was; I simply knew it mattered to my dad and mom.”

However, she stated, she doesn’t “have a lot religion that elections alone will change issues”.

“There’s no correct welfare system, no employment rights [in Bangladesh],” Akhtar stated. “Folks speak about creating jobs, however with out protections, what distinction does that make?”