Old video misrepresented as premature vote count in Bangladesh's 2026 elections

Published on February 26, 2026 at 07:59
3 min read
By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India

As Bangladeshis took to the polls in February 2026 in its first general elections since its former leader Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a 2024 deadly uprising, social media posts from neighbouring India shared a video falsely claiming it shows ballots being counted the night before voting day. But the footage shows ballot papers displaying the logo of Awami League, Hasina's political party that has been banned from participating in this election.

"Polling day is today but in Bangladesh the votes have been counted the night before", reads the part of the caption of X post shared on February 12, 2026.

The caption adds that the video -- shared 1,400 times -- was shot at a constituency in the Dhaka district of Gazipur.

Screenshot of the false post taken on February 20, 2026, with a red X added by AFP

The February 12 poll was the country’s first election since the 2024 uprising that ousted Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh for 15 years. Her Awami League party was barred from taking part (archived link).

Voters also endorsed proposals in a referendum that included prime ministerial term limits, a new upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence, with 60 percent backing the changes.

Days later, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) celebrated a landslide victory on February 13, paving the way for its leader Tarique Rahman to become prime minister (archived link).

According to the Election Commission, the BNP won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Islamist-led Jamaat-e-Islami alliance.

Similar claims with the same video spread elsewhere on X, Facebook and Instagram.

But election authorities denied that counting took place before the elections.

Md. Alam Hossain, the chief election officer of the Gazipur constituency, told AFP on February 18 that premature counting did not occur within his jurisdiction, and pointed out that the ballots from this year's election did not look like the ones in the falsely circulated footage (archived link).

"The video clearly shows people counting only one type of ballot, whereas the latest election involved two separate ballots. This indicates that the footage is not from the most recent polls," he said.

Other visual clues

A reverse image search using keyframes led to a sharper version of similar footage on Facebook. It provides clearer visual clues that the video is in fact old, like a boat symbol seen on the ballot papers -- the election icon of Hasina's Awami League (archived link).

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, with the boat symbol highlighted by AFP

AFP has a photo from a previous election showing a ballot paper having the boat symbol.

A man signs to receive his ballot paper before voting in Bangladesh's general election in Dhaka on January 7, 2024. The boat symbol was highlighted by AFP. (Photo Credit: Indranil Mukherjee / AFP) (AFP / INDRANIL MUKHERJEE)

AFP also compared the false video with official ballot-counting visuals recorded by AFP journalists.

An electoral official opens a ballot box as counting starts at a polling station during Bangladesh's general election in Dhaka on February 12, 2026 (Credit: Sajjad Hussain / AFP) (AFP / Sajjad HUSSAIN)

The voting process this year involved two types of ballot papers -- pink and white. The pink ballot paper was used for the referendum on the democratic reform charter (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to Bangladesh election.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail