Bangladesh votes in a landmark election to shape its democratic future after the 2024 uprising, with key players including the BNP, Islamist alliances, and a caretaker government stepping down

DHAKA: Bangladesh stands at a political crossroads as it holds its first national election since a student-led revolt toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

The Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people will elect 350 lawmakers to parliament from a field of over 2,000 candidates representing more than 51 parties.

European Union election observers have called this the “biggest democratic process of 2026, anywhere”.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 85, will step down from leading the interim caretaker government after the polls.

Yunus said he inherited a “completely broken” political system and championed a reform charter to prevent a return to authoritarian rule.

A referendum on these proposed constitutional changes will also be held on Thursday.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, is widely tipped to win the election.

Rahman returned in December from 17 years of self-imposed exile to lead a coalition including leftist, centrist and small Islamist groups.

“We expect that we will have a clear mandate from the people,” Rahman told AFP ahead of the vote.

Most opinion polls generally put the BNP ahead, though sometimes only by a narrow margin.

Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, is seeking a return to formal politics after being crushed during Hasina’s tenure.

Jamaat’s chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, is leading an alliance of more than 11 smaller parties.

This alliance includes the National Citizen Party formed by student leaders who spearheaded the 2024 uprising.

Sheikh Hasina, now a fugitive in India, was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity in November.

Her former ruling Awami League, once the country’s most popular party, has been outlawed.

Hasina told AFP that holding elections without her party would be “sowing the seeds” of further division.

In the last elections in January 2024, the Awami League took 222 seats in results decried by the opposition as a sham.

More than 300,000 security personnel, including the army and police, will be on duty for the vote.

Rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra reported 158 people killed and more than 7,000 injured in political violence between August 2024 and December 2025.

Transparency International Bangladesh raised concerns over the law-and-order situation, accusing parties of forming “mobs”.

Regional powers have taken a keen interest in the outcome of the polls.

Bangladesh’s relations with India have turned sour since Hasina’s ouster.

Yunus’ first state visit was to China, signalling a strategic shift, while Dhaka has also deepened engagement with Pakistan.

The Election Commission has approved more than 55,000 domestic observers and 330 foreign observers for the election.

 The Sun Malaysia