DHAKA: Vote counting is underway after tens of millions of people voted in the first national election in Bangladesh since Sheikh Hasina’s 2024 ouster in a tumultuous, Gen Z-driven uprising.
Polling began at 7:30am local time and continued uninterrupted until 4:30pm nationwide.
Although final figures were not immediately available, Akhtar Ahmed, senior secretary of the Election Commission, told reporters that nearly half the electorate had voted at 36,031 of the 42,651 polling centres by 2pm (0800 GMT), with two-and-a-half hours to go.
That is more than the entire 42% turnout at the last election in 2024.
Analysts say a decisive result is crucial for steady governance in the nation of 175 million, as the deadly anti-Hasina protests triggered months of unrest and disrupted key industries, including the huge garments sector, the world’s second-largest exporter.
