Bangladesh General Election After Hasina's Ouster

Bangladesh is holding its first genuinely competitive general election since 2009 on February 12, following a student-led uprising in 2024 that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and led to the banning of her Bangladesh===Awami League party. The election is primarily a contest between the Bangladesh===Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, and a coalition led by the Islamist Bangladesh===Jamaat-e-Islami, whose chief is Shafiqur Rahman. Young voters, particularly Generation Z, are expected to play a decisive role. The country has faced months of unrest, disrupting industries like garments, and is grappling with high inflation, weakening reserves, and slowing investment, prompting it to seek billions in external financing from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group. The election's outcome will also influence Bangladesh's foreign relations, with potential shifts in its alignment between India and China. Concerns about coordinated disinformation campaigns, largely originating from India, have been raised, with interim leader Muhammad Yunus seeking UN help and the Bangladesh===Bangladesh Election Commission working with Meta Platforms to combat false content.