Bangladesh: Polls, Referendum Close in First Election Since Gen Z Protests

Votes are being counted in Bangladesh after the country held its first election since student-led protests ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024.

More than 2,000 candidates are vying for a seat in parliament, though none from Hasina's now-banned Awami League party.

As many as 1,400 protesters were killed during the 2024 uprising, the UN says - with Hasina accused of having directly ordered the crackdown, an allegation she denies.

The election pits the centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) against a coalition led by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami which has joined forces with a party born out of the student uprising. Results are expected on Friday.

Voters were also casting their ballots in a referendum on constitutional change proposed by the interim government to fix what it has called a completely broken political system.

- Author: Simon Fraser, BBC