Voting starts in Bangladesh’s crucial parliamentary elections
Nearly 800,000 registered expatriate Bangladeshis will vote for the first time via IT-based postal ballots.
Voting kicked off this morning in Bangladesh’s high-stakes parliamentary elections—the first since Sheikh Hasina’s dramatic ouster amid massive nationwide protests in August 2024. Picture the scene: long queues forming at dawn across 299 of the 300 constituencies, with polls opening at 7:30 a.m. local time and wrapping up by 4:30 p.m. One seat got deferred after a candidate’s untimely death, but the energy elsewhere feels electric, a real turning point for a nation weary of turmoil.
This isn’t just any vote; it’s the 13th parliamentary elections, running side-by-side with a referendum on a hefty 84-point reform package that’s got everyone talking. Security’s unprecedented—nearly a million personnel on the ground, the biggest deployment in Bangladesh’s history. Armored Personnel Carriers rumble through Dhaka’s streets, Rapid Action Teams stand ready, and for the first time, drones buzz overhead alongside body-worn cameras on officers. It’s like the whole country’s holding its breath, determined to keep things smooth after years of unrest.
The Election Commission flagged massive risks: out of Dhaka’s 2,131 polling centers, police marked 1,614 as trouble spots, while the army zeroed in on just two. Still, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin urged calm in his eve-of-poll address, calling on voters, parties, and candidates to foster peace. He highlighted international eyes too—observers from 45 countries and groups, including election bodies, watching every move. “Cast your votes freely,” he implored, evoking that raw democratic spirit.
At the heart of it all is a fierce contest between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its former ally Jamaat-e-Islami. Hasina’s Awami League? Banned and disbanded by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’s interim government last year, barred from the fray. A whopping 1,755 candidates from 50 parties, plus 273 independents, are vying for seats—BNP leads with 291, including 83 women breaking barriers. Nearly 127 million voters, with 3.58% first-timers, hold the power. And here’s a milestone: almost 800,000 expatriate Bangladeshis, newly registered, get to vote via an innovative IT-based postal ballot system—their voices finally counting from afar.
Yunus, the Nobel laureate steering the interim ship, promises a swift handover to the winners. In a heartfelt TV address, he beseeched parties to show restraint, tolerance, and true democratic grace today. “Maintain restraint,” he said, his words carrying the weight of a man who’s seen Bangladesh’s highs and lows. Vote counting starts right after polls close, results trickling in soon after—could reshape the nation’s future overnight.
It’s moments like these that remind you of democracy’s gritty human side: families heading to booths together, young first-time voters gripping their IDs with excitement, elders sharing stories of past polls. Amid the tension, there’s hope flickering—Bangladesh stepping forward, learning from chaos, eyes on a stable tomorrow. Security chief Abdur Rahmanel Machud confirmed 900,000 law enforcers in place, per state media, underscoring the stakes. Whatever the outcome, this election feels personal, a collective exhale after Hasina’s fall. Fingers crossed for calm skies ahead.