DHAKA, Feb 12 – Bangladesh is holding its first election since student-led protests in 2024 ended the 15-year rule of its increasingly autocratic leader, Sheikh Hasina.
At least 1,400 protesters were killed during the uprising – with Hasina accused of having directly ordered the crackdown, an allegation she denies.
Her political party, the Awami League, has been banned from contesting this election
The vote now pits the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) against the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, which has joined forces with a party born out of the student uprising.
People are voting for a new government and also taking part in a referendum to change the constitution.
The interim government, led by Nobel Peace Price laureate Muhammad Yunus, has led Bangladesh since Hasina fled.
In November, a court in Bangladesh sentenced Hasina to death for crimes against humanity over her crackdown
