The election will be held in February next year, which is earlier than planned. This is announced by the country's interim leader, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
We will enter the last and most important phase after I have given this speech to you, and that is the transfer of power to an elected government, he says in a televised speech.
The announcement comes a year after the student-led protests that forced away Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after 15 years in power.
Yunus has said that he will step down after the election next year.
I urge all of you to pray for us so that we can hold a fair and calm election that enables all citizens to move forward towards a successful building of a new Bangladesh, he says.
The election was planned to be held in April, but the largest political parties have demanded that it be brought forward and held before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
