Bangladesh Holds Historic General Election Following End of Hasina's Reign

Dhaka. A historic general election was held in Bangladesh on Thursday. This is the first election since the end of Sheikh Hasina's nearly two-decade-long rule, which concluded following the student movement of 2024.

Over 127 million voters in the country cast their ballots to elect a new government and parliament for the next five years. Alongside the election, a referendum concerning the 'July National Charter' for the country's future and constitutional reforms was also held simultaneously.

In this election, 1,981 candidates from 51 political parties are in the electoral field. However, the main contest appears to be between two major alliances. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is leading a 10-party alliance. Rahman, who returned home after nearly 17 years in exile, is seen as the main contender in this election.

On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI), led by Shafiqur Rahman, is giving stiff competition to the BNP by leading an 11-party alliance. This alliance also includes the National Citizen Party (NCP), a new party formed by the students who led the 2024 movement.

Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, which has been in power for a long time, is not present in the electoral field this time as the Election Commission has banned them.

The voting process and the referendum took place from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM on Thursday across 42,761 polling centers nationwide. This time, voters used two ballots: a white ballot to choose parliamentary members and a pink ballot for the constitutional reform referendum.

According to the Election Commission, the preliminary estimate suggests a turnout of around 48%, which is higher than the previous controversial election in 2024. For the first time in this election, about 15 million expatriate workers were also given the facility to vote via mail.

When will the results arrive?

According to Election Commission officials, the vote counting process is currently underway at a rapid pace. While informal results in past elections usually arrived by the next morning, officials stated that the final results might take some time this time due to the large number of ballots and the need to count the referendum as well.

However, a clear picture of which party or alliance has taken the lead is expected to emerge by Friday morning. The role of the interim government and Nobel Laureate Yunus. This election was conducted by the interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. After the voting, Yunus called it the 'beginning of building a new Bangladesh.'

He urged the people to celebrate the rebirth of democracy and expressed confidence that this election would lay the foundation for a corruption-free and accountable governance system in Bangladesh. Out of the 350-member Bangladeshi parliament, 300 members will be directly elected, while 50 seats are reserved for women on a proportional basis.