Debunked: UN did not conduct survey claiming BNP leading in 265 seats
A claim circulating on Facebook asserts that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is leading in 265 seats in a UN survey, including Satkhira-3. BNP candidate for Satkhira-3, Kazi Alauddin, also made this claim during an election rally on February 8.
However, Dismislab’s fact-check has found this claim to be false. There is no evidence that the UN conducted such a survey, and no credible media outlet has reported on it.
The claim first appeared on the Facebook page “Samajer Alo” on February 8, with the post reading, “BNP is ahead in 265 seats in UN survey, including Satkhira-3. Kazi Alauddin.” The same claim was shared on another Facebook page and personal profile.
Multiple photos were shared from an individual Facebook profile on February 8, with part of the caption saying, “BNP-nominated Satkhira-3 (Kaliganj-Ashasuni) constituency candidate Kazi Alauddin has said that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party will form the government with a majority after the 13th national election. He added that a United Nations election survey found the ‘sheaf of paddy’ (BNP’s electoral symbol) leading in 265 seats, including Satkhira-3. He made these remarks at an election rally organized by the party’s upazila unit at Suhrawardy Park grounds in Kaliganj Upazila on February 8.”
During cross-checking, Dismislab found a live video from February 8 posted on a Facebook page with the caption: “Live from Satkhira’s Kaliganj – Election rally of Satkhira-3 candidate Kazi Alauddin organized by Kaliganj Upazila BNP.” In the video, Alauddin claims, “I have good news for you. The United Nations has already conducted an election survey in Bangladesh. It found the BNP leading by a huge margin in 265 out of 300 seats, including Kaliganj-Ashasuni 3.”
To further verify, Dismislab checked the BNP leader’s verified Facebook page, where a video of the same public meeting posted on February 8 also repeated the claim.Dismislab investigated national media outlets and the UN’s official website but found no mention of such a survey or report. Fact-check findings confirm that the UN has never conducted national election surveys in any country. Regarding Bangladesh’s upcoming election, the UN has expressed support for peaceful and safe voting, according to several media reports (1, 2, 3, 4).
Disclaimer: The original version of this fact-check report was published in Bengali on Dismislab’s Bengali website on February 9, 2026. The English translation was completed later; however, to maintain time accuracy and avoid any potential misinterpretation, the English version has been published with the original publication date.
