Bangladesh's election tests the power of Gen Z
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 11 February 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For the first time since the 2024 uprising, Bangladesh is heading to the polls. Voters will pick a new parliament and weigh in on a controversial "July Charter." With Gen Z now the largest voting bloc, will this election deliver real change?
In this episode:
- Tanvir Chowdhury (@tanvirbengal), Al Jazeera Journalist
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker, Noor Wazwaz and Chloe K. Li with Marcos Bartolomé, Tuleen Barakat, Maya Hamadeh, Sonia Bhagat, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
For more: Al Jazeera Investigates - 36 July: Uprising in Bangladesh
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, Bangladesh votes for the first time since the uprising that pushed Shake Hasina out. |
| 0:17.0 | Once elected, and if there's bad government, trust me, students will go down again on the street to change, because they're very empowered right now. |
| 0:27.6 | After a revolution and two turbulent years, will this vote actually deliver the democratic reset that people fought for? |
| 0:37.1 | I'm Kevin Horton, and this is the take. |
| 0:47.4 | Before we continue, if anything you hear today changes how you think about Bangladesh's election |
| 0:52.6 | or raises new questions, |
| 0:54.7 | leave us a comment and tell us what stood out to you. |
| 0:57.6 | And if you're listening on a podcast app, drop us a review. |
| 1:00.9 | Tell us where you're listening from. |
| 1:02.2 | And if you can, give us five stars. |
| 1:04.7 | It helps the show reach more people. |
| 1:10.2 | I'm Sanvir Chaudhry. I'm Al Jazeera correspondent based in Bangladesh, and I've been covering along with other team the upcoming general election in Bangladesh. |
| 1:19.6 | Okay, so Tanvir, welcome to the take. So, Thursday is the big day, the first national vote in Bangladesh since the 2024 uprising that forced |
| 1:29.6 | Sheikasina from power. Now, maybe I could just set the scene a bit. Over 15 years in power, |
| 1:37.2 | Sheikasina and her Olami League government had dismantled the democracy pretty much. It was seen as |
| 1:43.3 | increasingly authoritarian. |
| 1:45.0 | And then in 2024, millions took to the streets and they demanded a change. |
| 1:49.1 | And they got it. |
| 1:50.7 | Protesters stormed the residents of Bangladesh's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. |
| 1:54.7 | The army chief confirmed Hasina had resigned and fled the country. |
| 2:00.2 | Since then, the exuberance has diminished considerably. |
... |
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