Sawt Falasteen - Bangladesh launches campaigns for first post-Hasina polls

The South Asian nation of 170 million people votes on February 12 for 350 lawmakers, ushering in new leadership after prolonged political turmoil following the overthrow of Hasina's government, reshaping domestic and regional power dynamics.

It comes against the backdrop of insecurity -- including the murder last month of a student leader of the anti-Hasina protests -- as well as warnings of a "flood" of online disinformation.

European Union election observers say the vote will be the "biggest democratic process of 2026".

Mass rallies are expected with hundreds of thousands of supporters gathering, as the frontrunners the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, formally launch their campaigns.

- Sufi shrine -

BNP chief and prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman, 60, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile, is due to address a string of rallies starting in the north-eastern city of Sylhet.

Rahman assumed formal leadership of the BNP after the death in December of his mother, 80-year-old former prime minister Khaleda Zia.

Bangladesh, home to one of the world's largest Muslim-majority populations, has a significant Sufi following, and parties have traditionally launched campaigns in Sylhet, home to the centuries-old shrine of Shah Jalal.

Lines of supporters lined both sides the streets as Rahman prayed at the shrine on Wednesday night, cheering as his election bus passed by, with his countrywide roadshow of rallies to begin later Thursday.

Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposes Sufi mystical interpretations of the Koran, begins its campaign in the capital Dhaka, in the constituency of its leader Shafiqur Rahman.

Ideologically aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamists are seeking a return to formal politics after years of bans and crackdowns.

Since Hasina fled to India, key Islamist leaders have been released from prison, and Islamist groups have grown increasingly assertive.

The National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by student leaders who spearheaded the uprising, and who have formed an alliance with Jamaat, will also launch their rally in Dhaka.

- 'New Bangladesh' -

Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who returned from exile in August 2024 at the behest of protesters to lead a caretaker government as "chief adviser", will step down after the polls.

Yunus said he inherited a "completely broken" political system, and championed a reform charter he argues is vital to prevent a return to authoritarian rule, with a referendum on the changes to be held on the same day as polling.

He says the reforms will strengthen checks and balances between the executive, judicial and legislative branches.

"If you cast the 'yes' vote, the door to building the new Bangladesh will open," Yunus said on January 19, in a broadcast to the nation urging support for the referendum.

Earlier this month, he warned UN rights chief Volker Turk of a "flood" of misinformation targeting the polls, saying he was "concerned about the impact" disinformation could have.

"They have flooded social media with fake news, rumours and speculation," Yunus said, blaming both "foreign media and local sources".

Relations with neighbouring India have soured, after Hasina escaped to her old ally New Delhi as protesters stormed her palace.

Hasina, 78, sentenced to death in absentia in November for crimes against humanity for the deadly crackdown on protesters in her failed bid to cling to power, remains in hiding in India.

J.Saleh--SF-PST