DHAKA: Voters cast ballots across Bangladesh on Thursday in a parliamentary election seen as a critical test of the country’s democracy after years of political turmoil.

After a slow start, crowds came to polling stations in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere by midmorning. Balloting will continue through Thursday with results expected Friday.

More than 127 million people are eligible to vote in Bangladesh’s first election since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government collapsed in 2024 after weeks of mass protests, dubbed by many as a Gen Z uprising. Hasina fled the country and her party is banned from the polls. She is living in exile in India.

Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is a leading contender to form the next government. He is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in self-exile in London. Rahman has pledged to rebuild democratic institutions, restore the rule of law and revive the struggling economy.

Challenging the BNP is an 11-party alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, which was banned under Hasina but has gained prominence since her removal. The conservative religious group’s growing influence has fueled concern, particularly among women and minority communities, that social freedoms could come under pressure if they come to power. Bangladesh is more than 90% Muslim, while around 8% are Hindu.

Shafiqur Rahman, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, expressed optimism after casting his vote in a polling station.

“It (the election) is a turning point,” he told The Associated Press. “People demand change. They desire change. We also desire the change.”

– Voters are choosing new lawmakers –

The vote is taking place under an interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has said it is committed to delivering a credible and transparent election. As part of that effort, around 500 international observers and foreign journalists will be present, including delegations from the European Union and the Commonwealth, to which Bangladesh belongs.

Bangladesh’s Parliament has 350 seats, including 300 elected directly from single-member constituencies and 50 reserved for women. Lawmakers are chosen by plurality and the parliament serves a five-year term. The Election Commission recently postponed voting in one constituency after a candidate died.

The election follows a turbulent period marked by mob violence, attacks on Hindu minorities and the press, the growing influence of Islamists and weakening of the rule of law.

It could reshape the domestic stability of Bangladesh, a country whose post-1971 history since gaining independence from Pakistan has been marked by entrenched political parties, military coups and allegations of vote rigging. Young voters, many of whom played a central role in the 2024 uprising, are expected to be influential. Some 5 million first-time voters are eligible.

“I think it is a very crucial election because this is the first time we can show our opinion with freedom,” said 28-year-old voter Ikram ul Haque, adding that past elections were far from fair.

“We are celebrating the election. It is like a festival here,” he said. “I hope Bangladesh will have exponential change.”

– A referendum would set up significant future changes –

Thursday’s election is a critical test not just of leadership but of trust in Bangladesh’s democratic future. Voters can say “Yes” to endorse major reform proposals that stemmed from a national charter signed by major political parties last year.

If a majority of voters favor the referendum, the newly elected Parliament could form a constitutional reform council to make the changes with 180 working days from its first session. The proposals include the creation of new constitutional bodies and changing Parliament from a single body to a bicameral legislature with an upper house empowered to amend the constitution by majority vote.

The BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami both signed the document with some changes after initially expressing some dissent. Hasina’s Awami League party, which is a major party, and some of its former allies were excluded from the discussion. The referendum has still been criticized for limiting the options put before voters.