Sawt Falasteen - Counting underway in first Bangladesh polls since 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, hoping to 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.

"The early results indicate something positive", the Jamaat chief said, as counting continued.

BNP's Rahman has said he is "confident" of victory, and his advisor said the party would "secure a sweeping victory".

Many opinion polls give the BNP the lead, although some suggest a knife-edge race.

Significant first results are expected to be released overnight.

- 'Ended the nightmare' -

Heavy deployments of security forces are posted countrywide, with UN experts warning ahead of voting of "growing intolerance, threats and attacks" and a "tsunami of disinformation".

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

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.

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".

As counting took place, he urged all sides to stay calm.

"We may have differences of opinion, but we must remain united in the greater national interest", he said.

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.

Yunus, after casting his vote, said that the country had "ended the nightmare and begun a new dream".

Hasina, 78, sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, issued a statement from hiding in India, where she called the vote an "illegal and unconstitutional election".

- '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 the charter and whether to endorse its 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 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".

B.Mahmoud--SF-PST