DHAKA: Millions of young Bangladeshis will vote for the first time on Thursday in a landmark election to determine the country&#39;s leadership following a 2024 student-led uprising that ended former prime minister Sheikh Hasina&#39;s autocratic rule. Young people aged from 18 to 37 make up 44% of the country&#39;s 129 million voters, many who say they never voted during&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladeshs-pm-hopeful-rahman-warns-of-huge-challenges-ahead" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hasina&#39;s</a>15-year iron-fisted tenure. Elections under the ousted prime minister&#39;s rule were marred by allegations of widespread rigging and bans on opposition parties. Faijullah Wasif, 33, a university official preparing to cast his first ballot, said he did not vote while Hasina was in power because he felt it would not make a difference. &quot;It was mainly because of fear and anxiety that I didn&#39;t go,&quot; he said. &quot;I did not even feel interested.&quot; The demographic bulge of younger voters has forced parties to recalibrate their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-poll-rivals-rally-on-final-day-of-campaign" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">campaigns</a>and messages. The digital battleground has become central to the campaign and parties have invested heavily in online outreach, from Facebook videos to TikTok reels. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&lsquo;I am very excited&rsquo;&nbsp;</h2>This election, Hasina&#39;s former ruling Awami League has been barred.<div class="fr-embed youtube-embed"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-_5mS1UQHPM" title="Bangladeshis excited over first post-Hasina polls" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; max-width: 100%; display: block;"></iframe>&nbsp;</div>Instead, the parties once crushed under her rule are running -- the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies, and a coalition led by Jamaat-e-Islami. Ashfah Binte Latif, 21, a student at Dhaka University, said her parents had told her stories of past elections, pre-Hasina, when polling day was celebrated like a festival. &quot;Now that we have managed to change the system, I am very excited,&quot; she said.&nbsp;The National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by the student leaders who spearheaded the uprising, have allied with Jamaat-e-Islami. Latif said she expected more from the young student leaders, but she is still eager for change. &quot;We expected young people to lead us -- and in many ways, they did,&quot; she said. &quot;If they fail, it&#39;s a failure for all of the young.&quot; The spark that ignited the 2024 unrest started on university campuses by students opposed to a quota system in the civil service, which they said excluded them from jobs. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Fresh faces&#39;&nbsp;</h2>A year and a half later, Bangladesh&#39;s economy remains fragile, and graduates still struggle to land their first job. Election expert Md Abdul Alim, a former member of Bangladesh&#39;s election reform commission, said he expected a strong youth turnout. &quot;These young voters will carry this sense of deprivation with them to the polls, and they will vote,&quot; he said. Of around 2,000 candidates vying for the 350 seats -- some 1,400 standing for the first time -- more than 600 are aged 44 or below, according to statistics from the electoral commission. &lsquo;Dissenting voices&rsquo;Wasif, the university official, believes the fresh faces will benefit Bangladesh. &quot;Our trust in young people is very strong, and our hopes are high,&quot; Wasif said. &quot;Since young people brought about this change, I believe that it is through them that Bangladesh&#39;s political culture will undergo a radical transformation.&quot; Latif hopes it will usher in a more democratic leadership. &quot;A government that won&rsquo;t see dissenting voices as enemies, but will respect them,&quot; Latif said.

Bangladesh

Young people aged from 18 to 37 make up 44% of the country's 129 million voters, many who say they never voted during Hasina's 15-year iron-fisted tenure; demographic bulge of younger voters has forced parties to recalibrate their campaigns.

Articles tagged with "Dhaka University"

Younger Bangladesh voters primed for first post-Hasina election

Younger Bangladesh voters primed for first post-Hasina election