Bangladeshis all set to vote in 1st election after 2024 uprising

People in Bangladesh are all set to vote in the 13th general election on Thursday, the first after the July 2024 uprising, as poll campaigns end on Tuesday morning.

The government earlier announced three days of public holidays starting from Feb. 10 for the election.

Thousands of people, including factory workers, have been seen returning to their home voting constituencies, as restrictions on public vehicles will be enforced on the voting day.

Tabish Mahdi, a voter registered in his village in northern Rangpur district and working in Dhaka, said he could not manage a bus ticket despite several attempts.

"It seems people are so enthusiastic about this election as they couldn't vote in the past election under the Sheikh Hasina regime, particularly like me," he told Anadolu.

The election rush has caused traffic pressure and jams on some key highways connecting Dhaka and other parts of the country, according to local Channel24 TV.

Of the 120.7 million eligible voters, one-fourth are the first-time voters who dominated the movements in July-August of 2024 and now want a change in the political and administrative culture.

About 330 international observers from Türkiye, the US, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Jordan, Iran, Georgia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and South Africa, as well as the EU, the Commonwealth, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), are monitoring the elections.

Nearly 2,000 candidates -- representing more than 50 political parties as well as independent contenders -- are contesting the 300 parliamentary seats. The general election will be held simultaneously with a referendum on reforms.

A seven-member Turkish observatory team met interim head Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday, while another 23-member Commonwealth Observer Group also met him on Monday.