An era-defining election for Bangladesh, where Gen Z toppled an autocrat

After years of authoritarian rule, there is hope that this election in Bangladesh will put the country on a path to democracy.

It is the first time people will be able to have their say since a mass student uprising in 2024 led to the ouster of the country’s longest-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

Read more: Bangladesh votes in first general election since bloody ousting of Sheikh Hasina

It was a day the world saw Gen Z topple an autocrat.

Once an icon of democracy and economic progress, Hasina is now in self-imposed exile in India, convicted and sentenced to death for ordering a brutal crackdown against protestors.

The UN estimates 1,400 people were killed in less than two months.

Her party, the once-dominant Awami League, is banned from this election, challenging claims from the caretaker government that this will be an entirely free and fair election.

But it is, at very least and for the first time in a very long time, an election where it’s hard to predict the outcome.

Many will be seeing it as a test to assess the strength and impact of the youth vote and student movements in other parts of the world, like Nepal.

In both countries, frustration over a lack of jobs and endemic corruption exploded, unseating long-established leaderships.

But the truth is, it’s the old guard looming large in this vote on the surface.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is the frontrunner, the largest party, led by Tarique Rahman, son of the former PM Khaleda Zia.

He is part of a well-established dynasty.

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Then there’s Jamaat-e-Islami, banned under Hasina and dedicated to running the country under Islamic law.

In December, the student-led National Citizens Party (NCP) made the controversial choice to ally with the much older party.

The split within the youth vote could limit the political impact and influence of young voters.

But there are a lot of them, about 45% of the 128 million registered voters are between the ages of 18 and 33, according to the Election Commission.

Nobody yet knows what they will do, or the many Awami League voters unable to back their party. So far, there are some early indications of low voter turnout in Awami strongholds.

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In full: Wednesday’s The World

But more broadly, there is also a lot of hope and optimism in the air in Bangladesh.

There’s a sense of excitement, people speaking freely about their hopes and that openness hasn’t been on show in previous elections.

Many believe this could be an era-defining vote after years of autocracy and a chance to experience a real contest that doesn’t feel fixed.

One trend to watch for is the role of rising anti-India sentiment.

After years of good neighbourly relations, many voters, particularly young people, accuse Delhi of being overbearing and of supporting Hasina’s regime at the expense of democracy.