Polling begins in Bangladesh for 13th parliamentary elections

Guwahati: Voting began this morning for Bangladesh’s highly anticipated 13th Jatiya Sansad election, with more than 2,000 candidates from 50 political parties, along with numerous independents, contesting 299 of the country’s 300 parliamentary seats.

The Muslim-majority nation has over 127.7 million registered voters, including 62.7 million women and 1,232 third-gender voters. More than 42,000 polling centres have been set up to allow in-person voting until 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The election is being held alongside a referendum on the July National Charter, a constitutional reform proposal.

Muhammad Yunus, the interim government chief and Nobel laureate, urged candidates to rise above personal and party interests for the good of the nation. Speaking to the country of over 170 million people, he called on voters, especially women and young people, to participate enthusiastically, noting that many had previously been unable to cast ballots.

This year, nearly 400 foreign observers, including around 200 journalists representing 45 international media outlets, have arrived to monitor the election — a significant increase from the 158 observers during the last parliamentary vote in January 2024. The government declared a two-day holiday starting Wednesday, with the weekend falling on Friday and Saturday.

Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League is barred from participating, giving the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) a clear path. Western media outlets have projected the BNP-led alliance as the frontrunner, with chairman Rahman expected to become prime minister. Rahman, the son of former President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, returned from a 17-year self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom on December 25 and was welcomed by massive crowds. Following the death of Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, Begum Zia, on December 30, the government declared three days of state mourning.

Rahman has pledged to prioritize job creation, technical education, information technology, and sports, while fostering a Bangladesh built on rule of law, free speech, and inclusive governance.

The election period has also drawn attention to press freedom. The Committee to Protect Journalists urged all political parties to protect journalists from intimidation and violence. Earlier attacks, including the January 5 murder of Bengali Hindu journalist Rana Pratap Bairagi and injuries to at least 12 journalists in Narsingdi, have raised concerns about media safety, prompting calls from the Bangladesh Editors’ Council and the Geneva-based Press Emblem Campaign for effective protection of reporters.