Bangladesh Vote Tests Gen Z Uprising, India-China Balance
A Gen Z uprising that ended 15 years of rule faces its first electoral test amid economic strain and intensifying regional rivalries.
Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka, in 2024. Thursday’s election will be the first since Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took over as interim leader following the uprising.
Photographer: Fatima Tuj Johora/BloombergTwo months ago, Tajnuva Jabeen was ready to hit the campaign trail for Bangladesh's parliament. Her mother traveled 250 kilometers from the port city of Chattogram to join Jabeen in Dhaka, packing special sarees for public appearances and a new pair of sneakers to handle the dust and long days of street campaigning.
Jabeen, a first-time candidate and a leader of the National Citizen Party, had hoped to turn the energy of a youth-led uprising into electoral change. She ran on a promise to carry forward the “Gen Z” protest movement that swept Bangladesh a year earlier, ending the 15-year-rule of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s and her Awami League, inspiring similar rebellions across the developing world.