Votes are being counted in Bangladesh after its first election since student-led protests ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024.
More than 2,000 candidates are vying for 300 elected seats in parliament, though none from the banned Awami League of Hasina, who fled after 15 years in power after a brutal security crackdown in which hundreds of protesters were killed.
The election pits the centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) against a coalition led by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, which joined forces with a party born out of the student uprising.
Results are expected on Friday and there’s widespread hope among voters of a return to democracy.
For the first time since 2008, the outcome of an election in Bangladesh cannot be predicted with certainty. The past few elections were widely condemned as systematically rigged in favour of Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina has been convicted and sentenced to death in absentia for ordering the brutal crackdown against protesters 18 months ago, during which the UN estimated that as many as 1,400 protesters were killed.
She has rejected the charges and questioned the legitimacy of the election while in exile in India.
The ban on her Awami League contesting the polls casts a shadow over whether this election can be described as free and fair. However, voters on the ground report feeling like they have a choice.
More than 120 million people were eligible to vote, with a significant portion under 37 years old. They were also casting their ballots in a referendum on constitutional change proposed by the interim government, aimed at addressing a broken political system.
Speaking after voting, interim leader Muhammad Yunus described the moment as an end to a nightmare and the beginning of a new dream. Turnout had reached 49% by midday, according to authorities.
Nearly a million security personnel have been deployed to maintain order, as both leading candidates, Tarique Rahman (BNP) and Shafiqur Rahman (Jamaat), cast their votes in the capital.
Rahman expressed confidence in the election outcome, emphasizing the need for reforms and reconciliation in Bangladesh.
While Jamaat-e-Islami is fielding a sizable number of male candidates, criticism arises regarding the lack of female representation despite women being significant players in the recent uprising.
This election signals a crucial turning point for Bangladesh, as both major political parties navigate the landscape shaped by the protests and the absence of Hasina's party.
