DHAKA: Former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia will contest elections expected in February, her influential political party said Monday.
The 80-year-old has been a dominant figure for decades in the country’s turbulent power struggles, and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party is seen as the frontrunner in the elections.
Her participation was announced by Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a senior BNP leader, who said she will contest in three constituencies.
The uncompromising leader has been in poor health following years of imprisonment under her arch-enemy Sheikh Hasina, who was overthrown in a mass uprising in August 2024.
Zia, who led Bangladesh three times, was jailed for corruption in 2018 under Hasina’s government, which also blocked her from travelling abroad for medical treatment. She was released last year, shortly after Hasina was forced from power.
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