Bangladesh's Yunus urges nation to vote ahead of 1st elections since uprising

Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus urged citizens in a televised address Tuesday to cast their votes in upcoming general elections, aiming to break the 17-year "silence" of limited voting rights under the previous government of Sheikh Hasina.

"I am not merely requesting you. I am demanding it. Set fear aside and bring courage forward as you head to the polling stations. Your vote will not only elect a government. It will respond to 17 years of silence, challenge unrestrained fascism, reshape the nation, and prove that this country will never let the voices of its youth, women and resilient people be silenced again," he said.

The "future structure and direction" of the state will be determined through the elections and a referendum on constitutional reforms, he said ahead of Thursday's polls, the first since Hasina's government was ousted in a mass uprising on Aug. 5, 2024.

He also warned of a tough response to attempts to disrupt voting or any election violence.

According to government data, five people have been killed in election-related violence since the schedule for the polls was announced in December, although some previous elections saw more casualties.

Yunus also called on rival political parties and candidates to accept the election results, thanking them for exercising restraint and keeping the election environment largely peaceful.

He assured that his government will hand over power as soon as possible following the polls.

More than 127 million eligible voters will cast their ballots amid a massive security deployment.

Separately, Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Muhammad Sanaullah said in a media briefing that CCTV cameras have been installed in more than 90% of 299 constituencies and 958,000 members of various law enforcement agencies are now deployed across the country to maintain law and order.

Voting in one of the 300 constituencies has been suspended due to the death of a candidate.

The interim government following intense protests has formally approached the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for an investigation into the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent political activist and youth leader who rose to national fame during the July 2024 uprising.

A Note Verbale was sent on Feb. 6 seeking the OHCHR's cooperation to provide necessary technical and institutional support in the investigation into the killing, Yunus's office said Sunday.

Hadi, an independent candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency in the national elections, was shot in the head by motorcycle-borne assailants in Dhaka's Paltan area on Dec. 12, shortly after leaving a mosque.

He died at a hospital in Singapore on Dec. 18, succumbing to his injuries.

Police submitted a chargesheet against 17 individuals, including an Awami League activist.

Before the attack, Hadi had publicly stated that he received dozens of death threats from fugitive supporters of Sheikh Hasina, who has been in exile in India since Aug. 5, 2024.

Around 1,400 people were killed and thousands of others were injured in the uprising.