San Francisco Frontiers - Counting begins in landmark Bangladesh polls after deadly uprising

Leading prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman, 60, said he was "confident" his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) -- which was crushed during the 15 years of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina's autocratic rule -- can regain power in the South Asian nation of 170 million people.

However, he faces a stiff challenge from a coalition led by the Muslim-majority country's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami.

Election Commission officials reported "a few minor disruptions" but top party leaders on both sides raised fears of threats, with the BNP's Rahman calling on people to vote so that "conspiracies will not succeed".

Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, mounted a disciplined grassroots campaign and, if victorious, the former political prisoner could form the first Islamist-led government in constitutionally secular Bangladesh.

Jamaat, which has campaigned on a platform of justice and ending corruption, senses its biggest opportunity in decades, with party leader Rahman saying it "will do whatever is required" to ensure a fair result.

Polls closed at 4:30 pm (1030 GMT), with the first significant results potentially expected overnight.

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".

Like millions of young voters, Shithi Goswami, 21, a student at Dhaka City College, cast her ballot for the first time.

"I hope after everything we went through the last few years, now is the time for something positive," she said.

- 'Ended the nightmare' -

Opinion polls vary widely. Most give the BNP the lead, although some suggest a knife-edge race.

Political clashes killed five people and injured more than 600 during campaigning, police records show.

Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin reported a "a few minor disruptions", saying that the main threat had been a flood of disinformation on social media.

Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who will step down once the new government takes power, has said the vote would "determine the future direction of the country".

The 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner has led Bangladesh since Hasina's rule ended with her ouster in August 2024.

His administration barred her Awami League party 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 said after casting his vote that the country had "ended the nightmare and begun a new dream".

The public relations firm handling Hasina's communications said on Thursday that she would not comment on the vote -- but referred to past comments when she claimed that holding polls without her party would be "sowing the seeds" of further division.

Her party alleged on social media that the results were "pre-determined", without giving further evidence.

- 'Spirit of the uprising' -

Yunus has 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.

Voters also took part in a referendum on whether to endorse proposals for prime ministerial term limits, a new upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence.

Yeasin Arafat Emon, 25, said he had backed the charter because it "reflects the spirit of the uprising".

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".

F.Edwards--SFF