\n Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since a student-led revolt overthrew former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, ending her 15-year autocratic rule.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people, with 127 million voters, goes to the polls Thursday for the firest time since the uprising, electing 350 lawmakers to parliament.\n<\/p>\n
\n There are more than 51 parties, and more than 2,000 candidates.\n<\/p>\n
\n Here are the key players in a vote that European Union election observers say will be the \"biggest democratic process of 2026, anywhere\".\n<\/p>\n
\n - Interim government -\n<\/p>\n
\n Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 85, who returned from exile at the behest of protesters to lead a caretaker government, will step down after the polls.\n<\/p>\n
\n Yunus said he inherited a \"completely broken\" political system, and championed a reform charter he argues is vital to prevent a return to authoritarian rule. A referendum on the proposed changes will also be held on Thursday.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) -\n<\/p>\n
\n The BNP, led by Tarique Rahman, 60, is widely tipped to win the election after he returned in December from 17 years of self-imposed exile.\n<\/p>\n
\n A BNP-led alliance includes leftist, centrist and small Islamist groups.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We expect that we will have a clear mandate from the people\", Rahman told AFP ahead of the vote.\n<\/p>\n
\n Opinion polls in Bangladesh vary wildly, though most generally put the BNP ahead -- but sometimes only by a narrow margin.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Islamist-led alliance -\n<\/p>\n
\n Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest Islamist party which is ideologically aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, is seeking a return to formal politics after being crushed during Hasina's tenure.\n<\/p>\n
\n Jamaat's chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, is leading an alliance of more than 11 smaller parties, including the National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by student leaders who spearheaded the uprising.\n<\/p>\n
\n Bangladesh -- the world's third most populous Muslim-majority country after Indonesia and Pakistan -- is home to diverse strands of Islamic practice, including a significant Sufi community often condemned by hardline Islamists.\n<\/p>\n
\n Around 10 percent of Bangladeshis are not Muslim -- the majority of those are Hindu, and the country is also home to a small number of Christians.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Awami League -\n<\/p>\n
\n Hasina, 78, now a fugitive in India, was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity in November.\n<\/p>\n
\n Her former ruling Awami League, once the country's most popular party, has been outlawed, a ban condemned by rights groups.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hasina told AFP that holding elections without her party would be \"sowing the seeds\" of further division.\n<\/p>\n
\n In the last elections, in January 2024, the Awami League took 222 seats -- results decried by opposition parties as a sham.\n<\/p>\n
\n - The army -\n<\/p>\n
\n In a country with a long history of military coups, the army remains a pivotal force.\n<\/p>\n
\n More than 300,000 security personnel, including the army and police, will be on duty.\n<\/p>\n
\n Rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra reported 158 people have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in political violence between August 2024 and December 2025.\n<\/p>\n
\n Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) raised concerns over the law-and-order situation, accusing parties of forming \"mobs\" and setting up roadblocks.\n<\/p>\n
\n - International players -\n<\/p>\n
\n Regional powers have taken a keen interest in the outcome of the polls.\n<\/p>\n
\n Bangladesh's relations with India -- once Hasina's strongest ally -- have turned sour.\n<\/p>\n
\n Yunus' first state visit was to China, signalling a strategic shift, while Dhaka has also deepened engagement with Pakistan, India's arch-rival.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Election Commission has approved more than 55,000 domestic observers, and 330 foreign observers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since a student-led revolt overthrew former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, ending her 15-year autocratic rule. The Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people, with 127 million voters, goes to the polls Thursday for the firest time since the uprising, electing 350 lawmakers to parliament. There are more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-154233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n