Published : 13 Feb 2026, 12:11 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 03:09 PM
Boishakhi Akter, who now lives in Narayanganj for work, returned to her home in Dhaka’s Jatrabari to cast her vote in the national election.
She cast her ballot without any difficulty.
After voting at a centre in the Dhaka-4 constituency on Thursday, she said: “I voted in 2024 as well. I came to Dhaka just to vote. It doesn’t feel right without the Awami League, but I still had to vote, so I did.”
“The mistakes made by the Awami League should not be repeated by anyone else. Whoever forms the government should work for the people. If the public likes them, they will bring the party back to power.”
Israt Jahan Swapna cast her vote for the first time in her life at the same centre.
“If an elected government comes to power, I believe we will have a strong administration. That’s why I came to vote. I want a corruption-free government — that is my wish in my first vote,” she told bdnews24.com.
Her friend Mim Tabassum Adhora said, “No one should be deprived. We want a government under which poor people can have two square meals a day. Whichever party comes to power should overhaul the state.”
Describing her feelings after voting for the first time, Adhora said: “There was a bit of a suffocating feeling before. But after coming to the centre, it feels festive, like Eid. I met many friends, stood in the queue and finally voted. It feels good.”
Voters in the capital’s Shonir Akhra, Matuail, Jurain, Demra, Jatrabari and Sayedabad areas are divided between the Dhaka-4 and Dhaka-5 constituencies.
Women began arriving at centres early on Thursday morning after confirming their polling stations. All five centres at AK High School under Dhaka-4 had separate booths for women.
At Holyheart Kindergarten in Sayedabad under Dhaka-5, Presiding Officer Mashiur Rahman said voting was being conducted through four booths. “There was a heavy influx of voters in the morning. It eased slightly in the afternoon.”
At Dania University College centre, Mariam Sultana Keya, a first-time voter, said: “I expect a new Bangladesh, where the government thinks about the people.”
Another voter, Irene Sultana, said, “I expect a better Bangladesh. I voted ‘Yes’ in the referendum because the state needs reforms. All trials should take place, and whoever forms the government should not be like the previous ones.”
