In a sobering assessment, CFR expert Joshua Kurlantzick examines Bangladesh’s latest elections, exposing the limits of Gen Z’s political surge. The August 2024 student-led protests that ousted Sheikh Hasina electrified Asia, sparking similar unrest in Nepal and Indonesia while rippling to distant shores like Madagascar and the Caribbean.
This global Gen Z revolt seemed poised to reshape politics everywhere. But Kurlantzick’s report, drawing on fresh election data, paints a different picture: ‘Protests dominate the streets yet crumble at the ballot box.’ Thailand’s pro-youth People’s Party faced electoral rout. Japan’s dominant LDP repelled Gen Z upstarts with ease.
Bangladesh follows suit. Hasina’s fall opened the polls, but the BNP—not the protest heroes—claimed a landslide. As the alternate pole in Bangladesh’s entrenched two-party system, BNP talked the talk on reforms but inspires little faith among skeptics.
The protesters’ National Citizen Party scraped just six of 30 seats, a performance Kurlantzick calls underwhelming. Bangladeshis voted BNP to safeguard democracy, boost opportunities, curb graft, and enact sweeping changes.
Now, scrutiny intensifies on BNP’s governance. True change or empty rhetoric? Inaction would trap the nation in familiar dysfunction, Kurlantzick contends. Jamaat-e-Islami’s strong second place raises alarms—its history of deadly violence and anti-women stance looms large, amid a torrent of pre-poll killings.
The elections unfolded fairly on the day, but Bangladesh’s violent prelude persists. For Gen Z, the verdict is clear: Street victories don’t guarantee votes. As BNP takes the helm, the youth’s revolutionary zeal faces its sternest challenge yet.