Bangladesh Elections: The elections in Bangladesh are crucial parliamentary elections that could reshape the country after years of political instability. Today’s vote is the first election since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following violent protests in August 2024.
Voting started at 299 out of 300 parliamentary constituencies nationwide at 7:30 a.m. (local time) and will continue until 4:30 p.m. Voting in one precinct was canceled due to the death of a candidate.
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Counting begins shortly after voting closes and results are expected by Friday. Here are some facts and figures about today’s election:
12.7 million eligible voters, 5 million first-time voters
As many as 12.7 million Bangladeshis are eligible to vote today in a country of around 17 million people.
According to official data shared by the Election Commission of Bangladesh, eligible voters include about 6.48 million men, 6.29 million women and 1,234 transgender voters.
There are about 50,000 first-time voters. Remember that the uprising against Hasina’s government in 2024 was led by students and youth who are expected to be influential in the elections:
100,000 Police Deployed for Bangladesh Elections
Elections are held in 42,779 polling stations, with around 800,000 officials overseeing the process. The interim administration, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has said it is committed to holding free, fair and peaceful elections.
Provisional government headed by Senior Advisor Muhammad Yunus deployed nearly 1 million police, including about 100,000 from the military, to ensure a peaceful vote.
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To ensure this, around 500 foreign observers and journalists will be present, including observers from the European Union and the Commonwealth, to which Bangladesh belongs.
299 seats in Bangladesh elections
The Parliament of Bangladesh, or Jatiya Sangsad, has 350 seats, of which 300 are directly elected seats and 50 are reserved for women.
Voting is underway in 299 constituencies, with the election in one seat postponed following the death of a candidate and will be postponed to a later date.
Voters will therefore vote directly for 299 legislators and another 50 women will be selected from party candidates. The election at one seat was canceled due to the death of a candidate.
To form a government, a party or coalition needs a simple majority of directly elected seats — at least 151 seats out of 300. The 50 reserved seats for women are allocated after election results based on the party’s share of 300. These do not affect the initial threshold for forming a government.
Members of Parliament serve a five-year term.
50 parties, 2028 candidates in Bangladesh elections
Up to 50 parties compete in surveys. Hasina’s former ruling party, the Awami League, is banned from contesting the election.
There are up to 2,028 candidates running for 299 parliamentary seats nationwide.
The election is largely seen as a two-way contest between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and an 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party.
BNP’s Tarique Rahman, son of former prime minister Khaled Zia, is seen as the frontrunner to be Bangladesh’s next prime minister.
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The challenger to the BNP is an 11-party alliance led by the conservative religious group Jamaat-e-Islami. Part of this alliance is a new party formed by insurgent student leaders called the National Citizen Party, or NCP.
3 controversial past elections?
Today’s election is the 13th parliamentary vote since the country’s independence in 1971.
The 2014, 2018 and 2024 elections under Hasina were controversial as they were widely believed to have been rigged in Hasina’s favour. The main parties. Hasina’s opponents mostly boycotted the election.
BNP or Jamat-e-Islami? What do the pre-election polls say?
Three major pre-election polls have been released on the likely outcome of the Bangladeshi election. Two of these polls gave the BNP a clear lead, while the third indicated a close fight between the BNP and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Key things
- The 2024 elections are critical after years of political unrest and protests.
- Youth and first-time voters play a significant role in shaping the outcome of elections.
- The election sees a two-way contest primarily between the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, indicating a shift in power dynamics.