Bangladeshis went to the polls on Thursday in the country’s first election since a 2024 student-led uprising toppled longtime leader Sheikh Hasina. Hundreds were killed in the protests that forced her to flee to India, and her party, the Awami League, is banned from this vote.
More than 127 million voters are choosing representatives for 300 seats in the Jatiyo Shangsad, or House of the Nation.
The main contest is between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Tarique Rahman, and an 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami and the youth-driven National Citizens Party. Rahman returned from 17 years in exile last December and has campaigned on anticorruption and restoring democratic institutions.
Polling took place under heavy security, with hundreds of thousands of personnel deployed nationwide.
“This is emotional and empowering,” said Jainab Lutfun Naher, a voter from Dhaka’s Gulshan area. “I want this country to prosper. I want it to be democratic, where everyone has rights and freedom.”
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin called the vote a break from past “arranged elections.” He said, “Bangladesh has boarded the train of democracy and will soon reach its destination.”
Alongside the election, citizens are voting on constitutional reforms introduced by caretaker leader Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. The reforms aim to prevent a return to autocracy. Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull said they cover “institutional, electoral, policing and constitutional” changes and predicted a “landslide ‘Yes’ vote.”
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Yunus said, “This election is not just another routine vote. It will determine the future direction of the country, the character of its democracy, its durability, and the fate of the next generation.”
Experts warn the next government will face major challenges. “Youth unemployment and stagnating growth are fuelling frustration,” said Farhana Sultana, a geography professor at Syracuse University. “Climate adaptation and water security will also need urgent attention.”
Polls close at 4:30 p.m. local time, with results expected Friday.