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

Tens of thousands of flag‑waving supporters of key frontrunner Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) crowded the streets of the northern city of Sylhet, chanting his name.

"Do we have a leader? Yes, we do," BNP loyalists shouted, carrying placards of the prime ministerial hopeful Rahman, who only returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile.

The largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, will begin its campaign in the capital Dhaka later in the day.

The South Asian nation of 170 million votes on February 12 to elect 350 lawmakers.

The polls are expected to usher in new leadership after prolonged turmoil following the ouster of Hasina's government, reshaping domestic politics and regional 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".

- 'Never fulfilled' -

Rahman, 60, better known in Bangladesh as Tarique Zia, assumed leadership of the BNP following the death of his mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December at the age of 80.

"He will carry forward the legacy of his parents," said Harun Ur Rashid, a 40-year-old die-hard BNP supporter, referring to Zia and her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981.

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.

Supporters lined the streets on Wednesday night as Rahman prayed at the shrine, cheering as his election bus passed by.

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.

Engineer Raqibul Hasan Shawon, 26, watched the BNP rally from the sidelines.

"I haven't decided whom to vote for yet," he said. "We have heard commitments before, but they were never fulfilled."

- '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.

"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 he "concerned about the impact" a surge of 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.AbuShaban--SF-PST