DHAKA, Feb 12: Bangladesh voted Thursday in its first election since a deadly 2024 uprising, as parties crushed under Sheikh Hasina's rule return to the fray with a powerful political heir facing an Islamist-led coalition.
Queues stretched outside polling stations in the capital Dhaka in the hugely anticipated election in the South Asian nation of 170 million people, with key party leaders raising fears of threats or "conspiracies" to derail the vote.
More than 300,000 soldiers and police are deployed countrywide, with UN experts warning ahead of voting of "growing intolerance, threats and attacks", and a "tsunami of disinformation", especially targeting millions of young first-time voters.
"This was my first vote," said Shithi Goswami, 21, a student at Dhaka City College, who lined up early to avoid the crowds. "I hope after everything we went through the last few years, now is the time for something positive."
Leading prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman, 60, is confident his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) can regain power -- but he faces a stiff challenge from the Muslim-majority country's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami.
"I firmly believe that if people in Bangladesh come out to cast their votes, conspiracies will not succeed," the BNP's Rahman said after voting.
Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, has mounted a disciplined grassroots campaign, and if victorious, the former political prisoner could lead the first Islamist-led government in constitutionally secular Bangladesh.
Jamaat, who have campaigned on a platform of justice and ending corruption, sense their biggest opportunity in decades -- and Rahman warned his party "will do whatever is required" to ensure a fair result.
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Opinion polls vary widely, though most give the BNP the lead -- with some suggesting a knife-edge race.
- 'Determine the future' -
Police records show that five people were killed and more than 600 injured in political clashes during campaigning.
Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said the vote was going "smoothly in a free and fair manner", but warned of a flood of disinformation on social media, especially AI-generated content, "coming from across the border".
He did not give further details, but relations with neighbouring India have soured since the 2024 uprising.
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who will step down once the new government takes power, called the vote "far-reaching".
"It will determine the future direction of the country, the character of its democracy, its durability, and the fate of the next generation," he said.
The 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner has led the South Asian nation since Hasina's 15-year rule ended with her ouster in August 2024. His administration has barred her Awami League from contesting the polls.
Hasina, 78, was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity for the bloody crackdown on protesters during her final months in power, and remains in hiding in India.
Yunus has also championed a sweeping democratic reform charter to overhaul what he called a "completely broken" system of government and to prevent a return to one?party rule.
The 127 million voters will also decide in a referendum whether to endorse proposals for prime-ministerial term limits, a new upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence.
Voters will elect 300 lawmakers directly, with a further 50 women chosen from party lists.
Counting by hand begins after they close at 4:30 pm (1030 GMT). Results in past elections trickled in hours later.
"The crucial test for Bangladesh now will be to ensure the election is conducted fairly and impartially, and for all parties to then accept the result," said Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean.
- 'Just and inclusive '
The next government will inherit a battered economy in the world's second-largest garment exporter, as well as delicate relations with India.
The BNP's Rahman -- whose late parents both led the country -- told AFP ahead of the vote that his first priority, if elected, would be restoring security and stability.
But he warned the challenges ahead were immense, and that "the economy has been destroyed".
In his final address to the nation before voting, Yunus urged citizens to honour the "sacrifice" of the 2024 uprising.
"Victory is part of democracy; defeat is also an inevitable part," he said. "Please dedicate yourselves to building a new, just and inclusive Bangladesh."
