Bangladeshis seek to chart a democratic future in their first vote since the bloody 2024 uprising

Dhaka, Bangladesh– when Tariq RahmanAfter he, the son of a former Bangladeshi prime minister, returned to the country in December after 17 years of self-imposed exile, he announced to his supporters: “I have a plan.”

Rahman returned in a time of turmoil. Bangladesh It appears that the party was walking aimlessly under the interim administration as it approached nationwide elections. Many Bangladeshis felt that his return offered the country a new opportunity. His fiercest competitor is the former Prime Minister Sheikh HasinaHe will miss the elections after a violent student revolution ousted him in 2024.

Just two months later, Rahman is widely viewed as the front-runner Thursday’s elections. He reiterated his ambitions during an election rally in Dhaka on Monday, where he arrived on stage amid tight security as his supporters streamed into a public park, dancing and chanting.

“The main goal and goal of this plan is to change the fate of the people and this country,” he told the crowd.

This task will not be easy for whoever wins.

the election In Bangladesh, it comes after a turbulent period marked by mob violence, Increasing religious intoleranceAttacks on the press, the rise of Islamists, and the weakness of the rule of law. Fair elections will be a major challenge. The ruling in its wake could pose a tougher test for democratic institutions weakened by more than a decade of disputed elections and shrinking political space.

“Holding elections with relatively little violence, where people can vote freely and all sides accept the outcome would be an important step forward,” said Thomas Kane of the International Crisis Group, a think tank dedicated to conflict resolution. However, he warned that restoring democracy, after facing intense pressure under Hasina, would pose a long-term challenge.

This process is “just beginning,” Kane said.

Abdul Rahman – the 60-year-old son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia – promised job creation, greater freedom of expression, law and order, and an end to corruption. His campaign seeks to portray him as a bastion of democracy in a political landscape long dominated by entrenched parties, military coups and voter fraud.

Although Rahman never held any office in his mother’s governments, many Bangladeshis saw him as having significant influence within her Bangladesh Nationalist Party until She died in December.

The BNP’s main opponent is an 11-party coalition led by the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s premier Islamist party, still clouded by its cooperation with Pakistan during the 1971 war of independence. Its leader Shafiqur Rahman on Monday told supporters at a rally that the alliance came together “with the dream of building a new Bangladesh.”

With the Awami League party led by Hasina Absent from the survey The Islamic Group calls on its supporters to stay away, and seeks to expand its reach. The Conservative Party claims it will rule with restraint if elected to power, but its rise has sparked unease, particularly over its views on women. The party chief said women are biologically weaker than men and should not work eight hours a day like men, raising concerns that this could restrict women’s basic rights.

Concerns about Bangladesh’s future resonate particularly among those who were part of the uprising that paved the way for the elections.

When he won the Nobel Peace Prize Muhammad Younis After she took power three days after Hasina’s ouster, there was optimism among many. Later, the leaders of the student uprising launched a new political group, the… National Citizen PartyIt describes itself as a clear break from the old political system.

This promise faded after the party joined The coalition led by the Islamic GroupThis led to disappointment among some leaders, leading to the resignation of many of them.

Tasneem Jara, a public health expert who resigned from the National Congress Party and is running as an independent candidate, said the uprising “opened a window” for people like her to enter politics and help reshape its culture. But this hope faded when the National Congress Party joined the Islamists.

She said it had become difficult for her to see how a truly new political culture, long sought by many in Bangladesh, could emerge from such an arrangement.

“I struggled to see how a new political culture could truly flourish within this framework,” she said.

Arafat Imran, a student at Dhaka University, said he joined the uprising expecting change, but feels that the aspirations that led to the protests “have not been fulfilled.”

Imran noted that although the uprising brought in new political faces, the basic machinery of the state – the army, police and bureaucracy – remained largely unchanged.

Real reform or meaningful change will require reforming the entire system, Omran said, adding that “holding elections every five years alone cannot support democracy.”

He said: “In addition to elections, it is necessary to ensure the rule of law and civil rights. If this had been guaranteed, there might have been reasons to be satisfied with the elections.”

Concerns also extend to other areas of critical importance to a healthy democracy.

Roxana Anzoman Nicole, a popular talk show host in Dhaka, became a rare media voice during the uprising, defying security forces as hundreds were killed in the streets.

After the overthrow of Hasina… He hopes that these freedoms will expand Also faded. Nicole is now off the air, confined to her home, and fearing for her safety after a heated discussion with a guest defending mob attacks led to threats against her, her family, and her colleagues.

“One of the cornerstones of that movement was the belief that everyone would be able to speak freely, that people would have freedom of expression,” she said. “Sheikh Hasina left on August 5, and after just 10 days, my dreams collapsed.”

Her experience is shared by others as well. In December, a pro-uprising cultural activist was shot dead in central Dhaka, and protesters set fire to the offices of the country’s two largest newspapers, trapping staff inside. Last week, 21 journalists from an online outlet that reports critically on the military were briefly detained.

Several journalists told The Associated Press they have reduced their movements or stopped going to work altogether. Many lost their jobs as pro-uprising activists described them as Hasina’s collaborators. Global human rights groups have expressed concern about press freedom under the Yunus-led administration.

“A free press is vital to a thriving democracy,” said Katherine Cooper of Rupert. & The Ethel Kennedy Center for Human Rights, one of the groups monitoring the election. “Protecting freedom of expression must be a top priority.”

Many Bangladeshis place their faith in the elections. The vote will also include a referendum on political reforms that include term limits for the prime minister and stronger controls on executive power.

However, there is uncertainty about what democracy will look like in the country in the coming years.

Iftikhar Zaman, a Bangladeshi political analyst, said that for the first time in 16 years, Bangladeshis will have a real opportunity to vote, after three elections under Hasina’s leadership were marred by allegations of fraud or opposition boycotts. He described the elections as “exceptional”, but warned that strengthening democratic institutions would take time.

The International Crisis Group’s Keane said that while some of the proposed reforms were “important and meaningful,” they would not be enough.

“The political culture must change as well, and we are only seeing the first signs of that,” he said.