The Tamesis
Counting began on Thursday in Bangladesh’s first election since a deadly uprising in 2024, with powerful political heir apparent Tarique Rahman optimistic about defeating an Islamist-led coalition.
Prime ministerial candidate Tarique Rahman, 60, said he has “full confidence” in his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which was suppressed during its 15 years in power. Overthrow the dictatorship of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – could return to power in the South Asian country of 170 million people.
However, he faces a stiff challenge from a coalition led by Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist party in the Muslim-majority country.
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Electoral commission officials reported “some minor disruptions” but top party leaders from both parties expressed concern about the threat, with the BNP’s Rahman calling on people to vote so “the conspiracy does not succeed”.
Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, has launched a disciplined grassroots movement that, if won, could allow the former political prisoner to form the first Islamist-led government in constitutionally secular Bangladesh.
The Solidarity Party, which campaigned on a platform of justice and an end to corruption, feels its biggest opportunity in decades, with party leader Rahman saying the party “will take all necessary measures” to ensure a fair outcome.
Voting closes at 4:30 pm (1030 GMT), with the first major results expected overnight.
More than 300,000 soldiers and police have been deployed across the country, with UN experts warning ahead of the vote of “growing intolerance, threats and attacks” and a “tsunami of disinformation”.
Like millions of young voters, 21-year-old Dhaka City College student Shithi Goswami voted for the first time.
“I hope that after everything we’ve been through over the past few years, now is the time to take some positive steps,” she said.
“End of nightmare”
Poll results vary widely. Most see the BNP in the lead, but others think the race will be a tight one.
Police records show that political clashes during the campaign left five people dead and more than 600 injured.
Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin reported “some minor disruptions” and said the main threat was the flood of disinformation on social media.
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who will step down when a new government takes power, said the vote would “determine the future direction of the country”.
The 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner has led Bangladesh since Hasina stepped down in August 2024, ending her rule.
His government banned her Awami League party from contesting the polls.
Hasina, 78, sentenced to death in absentia Bloody suppression of crimes against humanity She cracked down on protesters in her final months in power and remains in hiding in India.
Yunus said after the vote that the country had “ended its nightmare and begun a new dream.”
The PR firm handling Hasina’s communications said on Thursday she would not comment on the vote, but she referred to past comments claiming holding polls without her party would “sow the seeds of further division”.
Her party claimed on social media that the result was “predetermined” but provided no further evidence.
“Spirit of insurrection”
Yunus advocates a comprehensive charter for democratic reforms to overhaul what he calls a “totally broken” government system and prevent a return to one-party rule.
Voters also took part in referendums on proposals such as term limits for the prime minister, a new upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence.
Yeasin Arafat Emon, 25, said he supported the charter because it “reflects the spirit of the uprising.”
The next government will inherit a battered economy in the world’s second-largest apparel exporter and a delicate relationship with India.
The BNP’s Rahman – whose late parents both led the country – told AFP before the vote that if elected his first priority would be to restore security and stability.
But he warned that the challenges ahead were huge and “the economy has been devastated”.
- Further editing by Jim Pollard, AFP
See also:
Bangladesh’s ousted PM Hasina ‘fake high growth’: Yunus
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Bangladesh wants legal help investigating Adani and power deals
Dhaka jubilates after Sheikh Hasina resigns, flees Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s main bank freezes Myanmar regime’s accounts
Bangladesh reaches $4.5 billion bailout deal with IMF
Fuel prices rise 52%, protests erupt in Bangladesh
