Chief adviser of the interim government Muhammad Yunus has pledged a peaceful transfer of power in Dhaka
Bangladesh is voting in its 13th general elections on Thursday, a year and a half after an uprising led to the ouster of the Awami League government headed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
A referendum on constitutional and institutional reforms is also being held in the South Asian country.
There are 127.7 million registered voters in Bangladesh; about 56 million, roughly 44% of the electorate, are between 18 and 37. Nearly 5 million are heading to the polls for the first time.
The 15-year reign of Hasina’s party ended in a violent uprising in August 2024, reportedly led by Generation Z protestors. Hasina, who fled to neighboring India, has since been sentenced to death by a court in absentia.
The Awami League, which ruled Bangladesh for a quarter century, has been barred from contesting the polls by the interim administration, led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
Yunus, a Nobel laureate, pledged to oversee a peaceful and dignified transfer of power in a nationally televised address on Thursday.
Hasina, meanwhile, has called on Bangladeshis not to participate in the national elections. “Do not go to vote,” she said.
Shafiqur Rahman, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, has called on Generation Z to take the lead on election day, recalling their role during the 2024 uprising, which allegedly had the hallmarks of a foreign-funded, meticulously planned regime change operation.
The national parliament, the Jatiya Sangsad, has 350 seats: 300 are filled via direct elections.
The ban on the Awami League has effectively left the country with several key political groups vying for power. The Bangladesh National Party (BNP) is headed by Tarique Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Hasina’s bitter rival. The BNP is aiming for a comeback after boycotting the 2014 and 2024 elections as well as rejecting the results in 2018. Rahman returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile in the UK.
The National Citizen Party, carved out of the group that led the anti-Hasina movement in July-August 2024, is allied with Jamaat. Islami Andolan Bangladesh and the Jatiya Party will also participate in elections.
The country’s Election Commission has said the results of the general elections and the referendum will be announced without much delay.
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