Dhaka (TDI): Bangladesh on Thursday officially launched campaigning for next month’s general elections, the first national vote since mass protests in 2024 brought an end to the long rule of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The February 12 election will see voters in the South Asian nation of around 170 million choose 350 lawmakers, setting the stage for a new political chapter after months of unrest that reshaped the country’s internal politics and regional standing.
The campaign begins amid lingering security concerns, including the killing last month of a student leader who played a prominent role in the anti-Hasina movement, as well as growing warnings over widespread online disinformation.
Large-scale rallies are expected across the country, with hundreds of thousands of supporters anticipated at campaign launches by the main contenders, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the country’s largest Islamist group, Jamaat-e-Islami, according to AFP.
BNP leader and prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman is due to address a series of rallies beginning in the north-eastern city of Sylhet. Rahman, 60, returned to Bangladesh in December after spending 17 years in exile and formally assumed leadership of the party following the death of his mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, last month.
Sylhet holds symbolic importance in Bangladeshi politics, particularly for Muslim-majority parties, as it is home to the centuries-old shrine of Shah Jalal and a strong Sufi tradition. On Wednesday night, crowds lined the streets as Rahman visited the shrine, cheering as his campaign vehicle passed ahead of his nationwide roadshow.
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Jamaat-e-Islami, which rejects Sufi interpretations of Islam and is ideologically linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, is launching its campaign in the capital Dhaka, in the constituency of party chief Shafiqur Rahman. The party is seeking a political comeback after years of bans and crackdowns under Hasina’s government.
Since Hasina fled to India during the uprising, several senior Islamist leaders have been released from prison, and Islamist groups have become increasingly visible and assertive in public life.
The newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), created by student leaders who spearheaded the protest movement and now allied with Jamaat, is also holding its campaign launch in Dhaka.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, 85, who returned from exile in August 2024 to head a caretaker administration as “chief adviser,” is expected to step down following the elections.
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Yunus has repeatedly described the political system he inherited as “completely broken” and has championed a reform charter aimed at preventing a return to authoritarian rule. A referendum on the proposed reforms will be held alongside the election.
The reforms seek to strengthen checks and balances between the executive, judiciary, and legislature. Addressing the nation on January 19, Yunus urged voters to back the changes, saying a “yes” vote would open the door to building a new Bangladesh.
