Dhaka, Feb. 7 -- As Bangladesh heads into a landmark election to choose Members of Parliament for its 13th Jatiya Sangshad on February 12, opinion polls show a large segment of the electorate is still saying "I haven't decided yet," rather than choosing a party outright. That is surprising in a country where elections tend to be predictable and it has turned undecided voters into one of the most important blocs in the race.

A nationwide Pulse Survey conducted by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) shows that 48.5 percent of voters have not yet decided whom they will support, up from about 38 percent eight months earlier. In the same survey, 14.4 percent refused to say who they might vote for and 1.7 percent said they ...