Bangladeshis lined up outside polling booths on Thursday to vote in an election that they hope will provide stability and growth after the 2024 ousting of long-time premier Sheikh Hasina in a Gen Z-driven uprising.
Analysts say a decisive result is crucial for steady government of the nation of 175 million. The deadly anti-Hasina protests triggered months of unrest and disrupted key industries, including the garment sector, in which Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter.
It is the country's first national election since the uprising led by under-30s, or Gen Z, and will be followed by Nepal next month.
The contest pits two coalitions led by former allies, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, with opinion polls giving the BNP the edge.
In the capital, Dhaka, people were queuing up at voting booths before polls opened at 7.30am, including Mohammed Jobair Hossain, 39, who said he had last voted in 2008.
“I am feeling excited because we are voting in a free manner after 17 years,” Hossain said. “Our votes will matter and have meaning.”
Mr Hossain's sentiment was echoed by many voters, who told Reuters that the atmosphere felt more free and festive than at earlier elections.
Kamal Chowdhury, 31, who works as a driver for a company in Dhaka, travelled to his hometown in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria to cast his vote.
He said: “It feels festive here. People are so enthusiastic to cast their vote – it’s almost like Eid,” he added.
Outside a polling booth in Dhaka where BNP chief Tarique Rahman and head of the interim government Muhammad Yunus voted, police officers sat on horses wearing saddle blankets proclaiming: “Police are here, vote without fear.”
Ms Hasina’s Awami League is banned, and she remains in self-imposed exile in long-term ally India. This opens the window for China to expand its influence in Bangladesh as Dhaka's ties with New Delhi deteriorate.
Elections were held during Ms Hasina's tenure but they were marred by opposition boycotts and intimidation, critics have said.
Queues of voters, heavy security
This time more than 2,000 candidates, including many independents, are vying for 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad, or House of the Nation.
Voting in one constituency has been postponed due to the death of a candidate. At least 50 parties are contesting in total, a national record.
The two prime ministerial candidates are the BNP's Mr Rahman and Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman. They are not related.
“From 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,” Mr Yunus, who took over as interim head following Ms Hasina, said after voting.
TV stations showed long lines at voting centres across the country, but it was not immediately clear what the turnout was nationally.
There were no reports of major violence in the early hours of voting, 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 Ms Hasina's stronghold of Gopalganj.
Around 958,000 personnel from the police, army and paramilitary forces were deployed throughout the country, the Election Commission said. Officers were stationed outside most polling booths.
