Bangladesh Holds Landmark Vote Amid Electing New Government
Voting commenced at 7:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT) and will continue for nine hours until 4:30 p.m. (1030 GMT). Preliminary results are expected to begin emerging later in the day as citizens select 300 members of parliament from 42,000 polling stations nationwide.
A total of 51 political parties and 2,034 candidates, including 275 independents, are vying for parliamentary seats. In addition to the 300 general seats, 50 positions are reserved for women, bringing the total number of seats in the legislature to 350.
Leaders from major political parties, including Tarique Rahman of the BNP and Shafiqur Rahman of Jamaat-e-Islami, cast their ballots in Dhaka, alongside interim leader Muhammad Yunus. “Today is a day of joy for all of Bangladesh—a day of liberation. The end of our nightmare, the beginning of new dreams," Yunus told reporters after voting.
The Bangladesh Election Commission reported the presence of 394 international observers and roughly 197 foreign journalists covering the election. Notably, this marks the 13th national election in the country’s history and the first time since 1971 that Bangladeshi expatriates could vote via postal ballot.
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