Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Bangladesh Holds First Election Since 2024 Uprising


(MENAFN) Citizens in Bangladesh began voting on Thursday to choose a new government, marking the country’s first elections since a mass uprising ended the 15-year leadership of the Awami League party.

Over 127.6 million registered voters are participating, also casting ballots on proposed constitutional changes. Polling stations opened at 7:30 am local time (0130 GMT) and will remain active for nine hours, closing at 4:30 pm (1030 GMT).

Election results are expected to start arriving later in the day as voters select 300 members of parliament from 42,000 polling locations nationwide. In total, 51 political parties and 2,034 candidates, including 275 independents, are competing for parliamentary seats.

Besides the 300 general seats elected directly by citizens, parliament also contains 50 seats reserved for women, creating a total of 350 members.

Security measures are extensive, with CCTV cameras installed in over 90% of electoral constituencies. Nearly 958,000 personnel from different law enforcement bodies, including 100,000 soldiers, are deployed to ensure safety throughout the country.

Voting in one constituency has been temporarily halted due to the death of a candidate.

“The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led alliance and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance are the main contenders after the Awami League party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was barred from the polls,” according to reports.

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