Yunus Calls Election ‘Birth of a New Bangladesh’

Dhaka, Feb 12, KNT: Bangladesh on Thursday voted in a crucial national election described by interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus as the beginning of a new chapter in the country’s history, marking the first polls since the July 2024 uprising that ended Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule.

Millions of voters headed to polling stations across the country as Yunus cast his vote at Gulshan Model High School and College in Dhaka. Calling the day the “birthday of a new Bangladesh,” he said the nation had rejected what he termed a nightmarish past and now had the opportunity to rebuild its future. Polling began at 7:30 am local time and is scheduled to continue until late afternoon, with authorities assuring a free and peaceful process.

The election follows months of political upheaval that culminated in the resignation and exile of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after youth-led protests. Around 1,400 people were reportedly killed during the 2024 crackdown. Hasina was later handed a death sentence in absentia in November 2025.

The Awami League, which ‘unethically’ dominated Bangladesh politics for over a decade, has been barred from contesting the election. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has entered the race as the frontrunner, contesting 292 of 300 seats, with its leader Tarique Rahman emerging as a key contender for prime minister.

Challenging the BNP is an 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, which is contesting a significant number of seats alongside youth-backed formations that rose during last year’s uprising.

The outcome is expected to shape the political trajectory of Bangladesh more than five decades after its independence in 1971. [KNT]