Bangladesh votes for 'political freedom'; BNP gains edge

Dhaka: Friday will see a new political dawn for Bangladesh as counting of votes was underway after polling ended on Thursday.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) appears to have the edge over its former ally Jamaat-e-Islami in the crucial general elections.

Election officials and media reports said early results gave an edge to the BNP with its nominees leading in over 175 seats while Jamaat candidates were leading in 30 seats.

In unofficial results, Election Commission officials said BNP chairman and former premier Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman won from Dhaka-17 and Bogra-6 constituencies.

Jamaat-e-Islami president Shafiqur Rahman is leading from a seat in the capital while Jamaat’s secretary general Mia Golam Porwar lost to his BNP rival Ali Asghar Lobby.

For the first time since 1991, the country will have a new male prime minister without the two begums -- the late Khaleda Zia and the exiled Sheikh Hasina -- who shaped the nation’s politics for decades.

The night before the crucial parliamentary elections, social media was abuzz with several videos accusing the Jamaat-e-Islami of election rigging and cash transfer.

The voter turnout is estimated at round 60% with official updates awaited.

But the mood was festive as people stepped out to vote to elect lawmakers on 299 seats. They also voted for a broad referendum seeking constitutional and political reforms.

Many middle-aged voters said they were voting for the first time given the vicious targeting of the opposition during the Hasina regime.

Freedom of speech and expression, freedom from toxic politics and corruption were common replies when journalists asked voters about their hopes from this election.

The Chief Advisor in the Interim Regime and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who oversaw these elections, called it a ‘birthday’ for democracy in Bangladesh.

Outside the Model High School in upscale Gulshan area in capital Dhaka, crowds, including a large number of foreign journalists, jostled amid high security as Tarique Rehman came to vote. “I have exercised my constitutional right to vote. For more than a decade, the people of Bangladesh have been waiting for this day,” the BNP chairperson, seen as prime ministerial frontrunner in the race, said afterwards.

Rehman also promised that if elected, his government would start working to empower women from day one itself. Nahid Islam, chief of NCP (National Citizens’ Party) which is in alliance with the Jamaat, too addressed women voters in a televised address on election eve.

He stressed “Bangladesh would never be Afghanistan” and cited Malaysia and Türkiye as examples of societies that are “religious but also liberal and progressive” amid growing concerns about women’s rights if the radical Jamaat-e-Islami pulls a victory.

“Every citizen should be able to follow their own religion without any problem. Women will be free to wear what they want,” said Islam, the youth leader born out of the 2024 Gen Z uprising that ousted Hasina.

Emaan Rehman (19), who was a social media coordinator during the student protests, too voted for the first time.

He called it a different feeling but expressed his disappointment that the country remains mired in several economic and social crises even with Hasina gone.

“I am hoping that my vote and those of my generation, would make a difference,” he says.

By the end of polling day, several incidents of violence and scuffles were reported from various centres though the election commission maintained it was by and large peaceful.

Sheikh Hasina called the elections a ‘well planned farce’ in a statement condemning the polls that did not allow the Awami League to fight.

With counting underway across centres, it will be a long night amid fears of political violence and bloodshed that the fractured country is no stranger to.

After almost 18 months, the country will wake up to a new prime minister who will not only decide the course of the nation but also steer relationships with its biggest neighbour India, with a bilateral relationship in deep crisis.