\u201cOur trust in young people is very strong, and our hopes are high,\u201d says first time voter
\n DHAKA
\nMillions of young Bangladeshis will vote for the first time on Thursday in a landmark election to determine the country\u2019s leadership following a 2024 student-led uprising that ended former prime minister Sheikh Hasina\u2019s autocratic rule.
\nYoung people aged 18 to 27 make up 44% of the country\u2019s 129 million voters, many of whom say they never voted during Hasina\u2019s 15-year iron-fisted tenure.
\nElections under the ousted prime minister\u2019s rule were marred by allegations of widespread rigging and bans on opposition parties.
\nFaijullah Wasif, 33, a university official preparing to cast his first ballot, said he didn\u2019t vote while Hasina was in power because he felt it wouldn\u2019t make a difference.
\n\u201cIt was mainly because of fear and anxiety that I didn\u2019t go,\u201d he said. \u201cI did not even feel interested.\u201d
\nThe demographic bulge of younger voters has forced parties to recalibrate their campaigns and messages.
\nThe digital battleground has become central to the campaign, and parties have invested heavily in online outreach, from Facebook videos to TikTok reels.
\n\u2018Excited\u2019
\nThis election, Hasina\u2019s former ruling Awami League has been barred.
\nInstead, the parties once crushed under her rule are running \u2014 the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies, and a coalition led by Jamaat-e-Islami, the country\u2019s largest religious party.
\nAshfah Binte Latif, 21, a student at Dhaka University, said her parents had told her stories of past elections, pre-Hasina, when polling day was celebrated like a festival.
\n\u201cNow that we have managed to change the system, I am very excited,\u201d she said.
\nThe National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by the student leaders who spearheaded the uprising, have allied with Jamaat-e-Islami.
\nLatif said she expected more from the young student leaders, but she is still eager for change.
\n\u201cWe expected young people to lead us \u2014 and in many ways, they did,\u201d she said. \u201cIf they fail, it\u2019s a failure for all of the young.\u201d
\nThe spark that ignited the 2024 unrest started on university campuses by students opposed to a quota system in the civil service, which they said excluded them from jobs.
\n\u2018Respect\u2019
\nA year and a half later, Bangladesh\u2019s economy remains fragile, and graduates still struggle to land their first job.
\nElection expert Md Abdul Alim, a former member of Bangladesh\u2019s election reform commission, said he expected a strong youth turnout.
\n\u201cThese young voters will carry this sense of deprivation with them to the polls, and they will vote,\u201d he said.
\nOf around 2,000 candidates vying for the 350 seats \u2014 some 1,400 standing for the first time \u2014 more than 600 are aged 44 or below, according to statistics from the electoral commission.
\nWasif, the university official, believes the fresh faces will benefit Bangladesh.
\n\u201cOur trust in young people is very strong, and our hopes are high,\u201d Wasif said.
\n\u201cSince young people brought about this change, I believe that it is through them that Bangladesh\u2019s political culture will undergo a radical transformation.\u201d
\nLatif hopes it will usher in a more democratic leadership.
\n\u201cA government that won\u2019t see dissenting voices as enemies, but will respect them,\u201d Latif said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cOur trust in young people is very strong, and our hopes are high,\u201d says first time voter DHAKA Millions of young Bangladeshis will vote for the first time on Thursday in a landmark election to determine the country\u2019s leadership following a 2024 student-led uprising that ended former prime minister Sheikh Hasina\u2019s autocratic rule. Young people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-530852","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n