Polls opened across Bangladesh on Thursday for voters to cast ballots in a parliamentary election seen as a critical test of the country`s democracy after years of political turmoil. (Photo by AP)

Polls opened across Bangladesh on Thursday for voters to cast ballots in a parliamentary election seen as a critical test of the country`s democracy after years of political turmoil.

More than 127 million people are eligible to vote, and security was tight at the tens of thousands of polling stations around the country. Balloting will continue through Thursday with results expected Friday.

The election is Bangladesh`s first since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina`s government collapsed in 2024 after weeks of mass protests. Hasina fled the country and her party is banned from the polls. She is living in exile in India.

Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is a leading contender to form the next government. He is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in self-exile in London. Rahman has pledged to rebuild democratic institutions, restore the rule of law and revive the struggling economy.

Challenging the BNP is an 11-party alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country`s largest Islamist party, which was banned under Hasina but has gained prominence since her removal. The conservative religious group`s growing influence has fueled concern among many voters, particularly women and minority communities, who fear social freedoms could come under pressure if they come to power.

Bangladesh is more than 90% Muslim, while around 8% are Hindu.

The vote is taking place under an interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has said it is committed to delivering a credible and transparent election. As part of that effort, around 500 international observers and foreign journalists will be present, including delegations from the European Union and the Commonwealth, to which Bangladesh belongs.

Bangladesh`s Parliament has 350 seats, including 300 elected directly from single-member constituencies and 50 reserved for women. Lawmakers are chosen by plurality and the parliament serves a five-year term. The Election Commission recently postponed voting in one constituency after a candidate died.

The election could reshape the domestic stability of Bangladesh, a country whose post-1971 history since gaining independence from Pakistan has been marked by entrenched political parties, military coups and allegations of vote rigging. Young voters, many of whom played a central role in the 2024 uprising, are expected to be influential. Some 5 million first-time voters are eligible.

The election will also include a referendum for political reforms that include prime ministerial term limits, stronger checks on executive power and other safeguards preventing parliamentary power consolidation.