Analysts say a decisive result is crucial for steady governance in the nation of 175 million
\nMonitoring Desk
\nDHAKA
\nCounting began in Bangladesh\u2019s pivotal national election on Thursday after tens of millions of people voted for a new government following the 2024 ouster of long\u2011time premier Sheikh Hasina in a tumultuous Gen Z\u2011driven uprising.
\nAlthough final figures were not immediately available, Akhtar Ahmed, senior secretary of the Election Commission, told reporters that nearly half the electorate had voted at 36,031 of the 42,651 polling centres by 2pm (0800 GMT), with two-and-a-half hours to go.
\nThat is more than the entire 42% turnout at the last election in 2024.
\nAnalysts say a decisive result is crucial for steady governance in the nation of 175 million, as the deadly anti-Hasina protests triggered months of unrest and disrupted key industries, including the huge garments sector, the world\u2019s second-largest exporter.
\nIt is the world\u2019s first election after an uprising led by under-30s, or Gen Z, to be followed by Nepal next month.
\nCounting began at 4:30pm (1030 GMT) at most booths, immediately after polls closed, with early trends expected around midnight and results likely to be clear by Friday morning, Election Commission officials said.
\nThe contest pits two coalitions led by former allies, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist Jamaat\u2011e\u2011Islami, with opinion polls giving an edge to the BNP.
\nBoth prime ministerial candidates \u2014 the BNP\u2019s Tarique Rahman and Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman \u2014 said they were confident of winning. The two men are not related.
\n\u201cI am confident of winning the election. There is enthusiasm among the people about the vote,\u201d Tarique told reporters, while Shafiqur called the election a \u201cturning point\u201d for Bangladesh and said the people were eager for change.
\nHasina\u2019s Awami League is banned, and she remains in self\u2011imposed exile in long-term ally India, opening the window for China to expand its influence in Bangladesh as Dhaka\u2019s ties with New Delhi deteriorate.
\nElections were held during Hasina\u2019s tenure, but they were marred by opposition boycotts and intimidation, critics have said.
\nPresident Asif Ali Zardari extended his best wishes to Bangladesh on the elections and expressed the hope that the electoral process would further strengthen democratic institutions and contribute to peace, stability and continued progress.
\nAlongside the election, a referendumwas held on a set of constitutional reforms, including establishing a neutral interim government for election periods, restructuring parliament into a bicameral legislature, increasing women\u2019s representation, strengthening judicial independence and imposing a two-term limit on the prime minister.
\nMore than 2,000 candidates, including many independents, are vying for 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad, or House of the Nation.
\nVoting in one constituency has been postponed due to the death of a candidate. At least 50 parties are contesting in total, a national record.
\nThere were no reports of major violence, but a BNP leader died in a scuffle outside a polling booth in the coastal town of Khulna, and two paramilitary personnel and a 13-year-old girl were injured when a home-made bomb exploded outside a polling booth in Hasina\u2019s stronghold of Gopalganj.
\nAround 958,000 personnel from the police, army and paramilitary forces were deployed throughout the country on election day, the Election Commission said. Police and army personnel were stationed outside most polling booths.
\n\u201cI am feeling excited because we are voting in a free manner after 17 years,\u201d Mohammed Jobair Hossain, 39, said as he waited in line. \u201cOur votes will matter and have meaning.\u201d
\nHossain\u2019s sentiment was echoed by many voters, who told Reuters that the atmosphere felt more free and festive than earlier elections.
\nKamal Chowdhury, 31, who works as a driver for a company in Dhaka and travelled to his hometown in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria to cast his vote, said: \u201cIt feels festive here.
\n\u201cPeople are so enthusiastic to cast their vote \u2014 it\u2019s almost like Eid,\u201d he added, referring to Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim religious festival.
\nOutside a polling booth in Dhaka, where the BNP chief and head of the interim government Muhammad Yunus voted, policemen were on horses with saddle blankets proclaiming: \u201cPolice are here, vote without fear\u201d.
\n\u201cFrom today, we have the opportunity to build a new Bangladesh with every step we take. This is a festival, a day of joy, a day of liberation, the end of our nightmare. I congratulate you all,\u201d Yunus, who took over as interim head after Hasina, said after voting.
\n\u201cThe crucial test for Bangladesh now will be to ensure the election is conducted fairly and impartially, and for all parties to then accept the result,\u201d said Thomas Kean, a senior consultant with the International Crisis Group.
\n\u201cIf that happens, it will be the strongest evidence yet that Bangladesh has indeed embarked on a period of democratic renewal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Analysts say a decisive result is crucial for steady governance in the nation of 175 million Monitoring Desk DHAKA Counting began in Bangladesh\u2019s pivotal national election on Thursday after tens of millions of people voted for a new government following the 2024 ouster of long\u2011time premier Sheikh Hasina in a tumultuous Gen Z\u2011driven uprising. Although […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-531067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n