{"id":12269,"date":"2026-02-15T11:52:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T11:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12269"},"modified":"2026-02-15T11:52:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T11:52:03","slug":"very-hopeful-cautious-optimism-among-gen-z-bangladeshis-after-key-vote-bangladesh-election-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12269","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Very hopeful\u2019: Cautious optimism among Gen Z Bangladeshis after key vote | Bangladesh Election 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">4 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The landmark Bangladesh election held last week was \u2060triggered by a Gen Z-led uprising in 2024, yet a youth-led National Citizen Party (NCP) \u2013 born out of the uprising \u2013 managed to secure only six parliamentary seats out of the 297, the results of which are available.<\/p>\n<p>The results, officially declared on Saturday, showed that voters overwhelmingly chose the long-established Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which comfortably defeated a Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, of which the NCP is a key partner.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Tarique Rahman of the BNP, which has already governed the country three times, most recently from 2001 to 2006, is set to become prime minister following one of the most consequential elections in the country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>Many young Bangladeshis who voted for the first time described the election as historic, but falling short of their expectations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Generation Z, we didn\u2019t get the expected representation and results after shedding so much blood and losing lives,\u201d student Afsana Hossain Himi told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStill, we are very hopeful. We have representatives from the younger generation, and we hope they will do something good,\u201d she said, referring to the six NCP winners.<\/p>\n<p>Many young Bangladeshis felt the NCP failed to build up a big enough support base in time for \u200cthe vote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey did not live up to the hopes and dreams people had after the 2024 uprising,\u201d 23-year-old university student Sohanur Rahman said. \u201cThe NCP\u2019s alignment with Jamaat felt like a betrayal, and many young voters like us chose not to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud said the \u2060party would rebuild itself in opposition and focus on local government elections due in a year.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a-new-beginning\">\u2018A new beginning\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The South Asian country of 173 million people has one of the world\u2019s youngest populations, with approximately 44 percent of its vote bank \u2013 56 million \u2013 between the ages of 18 and 37.<\/p>\n<p>The election outcome is widely seen as a chance to restore stability after months of upheaval that followed the 2024 uprising, which toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Security forces at the time, acting on her orders, killed more than 1,400 people, according to the United Nations. Hasina has since been handed a death sentence in absentia for the crackdown.<\/p>\n<p>Hasina, currently living in exile in New Delhi, and Rahman\u2019s mother, Khaleda Zia, have for decades towered over the country\u2019s political landscape. Rahman\u2019s father, Ziaur Rahman, a key figure in Bangladesh\u2019s independence struggle, also led the nation from 1977 until his assassination in 1981.<\/p>\n<p>Rahman, who is likely to be sworn in on Tuesday, has pledged that his administration will prioritise the rule of law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur position is clear. Peace and order must be maintained at any cost. No wrongdoing or unlawful activity will be tolerated,\u201d he said at a news conference on Saturday. \u201cRegardless of party, religion, race, or differing opinions, under no circumstances will attacks by the strong against the weak be accepted. Justice will be our guiding principle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shakil Ahmed, a government and politics professor at Jahangirnagar University, said \u2060the Jamaat-NCP alliance pushed away young voters who had wanted a new political class after the fall of Hasina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany saw it as a retreat into old politics rather than a break from it,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cThis decision divided the youth vote and strengthened support for the BNP under Tarique Rahman, which appeared more organised and capable of governing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, for student Farhan Ullash, the vote felt like a long-awaited break with the past.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter all, the election was a kind of dream for us, a new beginning for Bangladesh,\u201d he said. \u201cI know already BNP is going to make the government. I hope they will listen to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a04 mins info The landmark Bangladesh election held last week was \u2060triggered by a Gen Z-led uprising in 2024, yet a youth-led National Citizen Party (NCP) \u2013 born out of the uprising \u2013 managed to secure only six parliamentary seats out of the 297, the results of which are available. The results, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}