Bangladesh Votes Today In First Polls Since 2024 Uprising

Bangladesh will hold its crucial parliamentary elections today -- 18 months after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year-old regime collapsed amid massive, nationwide protests. While an interim government took charge since, the period has been marked with protests, an uprising of hardline Islamic group, violence against minorities and a shift in the country's foreign policy that took it closer to Pakistan and China and further away from India. 

All that is now expected to change with a democratically elected government coming to power - which, many think, will be the Bangladesh National Party of Khaleda Zia. Since her recent death, the party is being led by her son Tarique Rahman, the front-runner for the Prime Minister's post. 

The BNP's big opponent is the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, a hardline Islamic Party that was once its ally. While Bangladesh watchers predict a BNP victory, they concede that Jamaat will produce its best-ever performance in the election. 

Since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year, Chief Adviser of the interim government Muhammad Yunus has disbanded her Awami League and barred it from contesting the polls. 

The party has called it a "staged election" and alleged that BNP, Jamaat, and their allies are "continuously pressuring and threatening" them as well as ordinary citizens to force them to go to the polls". 

On the eve of what is one of South Asia's most important elections this year, Bangladesh appeared on edge. People were seen going about their lives. But under the brittle calm the tension is palpable.

Many young people in their 20s and 30s have never cast their ballot during Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule that ended in August 2024. Young voters aged 18 to 37 make up 44 per cent of the 127 million-strong electorate of Bangladesh.

The Voting 

Voting for the 13th national elections and referendum-2026 will take place across 299 parliamentary constituencies from 7.30 am to 4.30 pm. Counting of votes begin immediately after voting ends. 

800,000 poll staff will conduct the voting process in the 299 Parliamentary seats and this time around 50 political parties in the fray. Bangladesh holds elections using Paper ballots and the ballot papers are dropped into transparent ballot boxes. 

Besides Independents, a total of 2,028 candidates are contesting as representatives of political parties. 

To improve transparency and ensure there is no election manipulation, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), drones and body-worn cameras are being used for the first time to ensure security. 

The Election Commission has cancelled the voting in one seat, the Sherpur-3 constituency, due to the death of a candidate. 

Huge Security Arrangements 

To ensure security, 958,000 security personnel will be deployed with higher concentration in sensitive areas.  More than 100,000 army personnel have been deployed as well.

Authorities have deployed Armoured Personnel Carriers and Rapid Action Teams across key areas of the capital. 

"Security deployment is being made based on local sensitivity assessments," Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah has told reporters.

For the first time, drones and body-worn cameras are being used for election security, Sanaullah said.

Around 25,000 body-worn cameras will be deployed on the field. 
Some of these are IP-based for live feed, while others will record locally. Moreover, for continuous monitoring, CCTV cameras have already been installed in over 90% of centres." He said voting will be held in a total of 42,659 centres, reported news agency Press Trust of India.

No Indian Observer

Several countries like Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, China, EU etc have sent election observers to Bangladesh but India has not sent any this time. Nearly 100 foreign election observers and 197 foreign journalists are currently in Bangladesh. 

The number of observers has nearly doubled since the last election in January 2024, which saw former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina return to power, only to be ousted later in the year.

Foreign journalists in Dhaka to cover the election asked questions about whether the ban on the Awami League in this election will affect the validity and acceptability of the election results. 

The Bangladesh Election Commission, however, tiptoed around the issue and avoided a direct answer to that question.

The Election Commission also refuted reports indicating a reduced voter turnout due to the Awami League's absence.