The election came after years of severe distrust in the electoral process, questions over legitimacy, and institutional strain, so the poll’s successful conduct has reinforced trust in the process as well as the principle that governments derive authority from the consent of the governed.

Our economy’s overwhelming dependence on garment exports leaves us exposed to global supply chain disruptions, automation threats, trade policy shifts, etc. Tourism offers a useful means of diversification, and it brings foreign currency directly.

Bangladesh remains bound to an analogue collateral regime. Landlessness is not marginal in rural Bangladesh; it is structural.

A news report published in The Daily Star early this month highlighted many factory owners’ struggle to access the much-heralded Green Transformation Fund (GTF).

The interim government’s (IG) disclosure of the assets of advisers on February 10, just days before the scheduled end of its tenure, was not only delayed by 533 days after its commitment to do so, but was also incomplete, flawed, and unfit for purpose.

Large mandates are usually treated as moments of political triumph. In institutional terms, however, they are something else: a change in the conditions under which power operates.

The long-anticipated and widely speculated national election has concluded. Contrary to many predictions, voters delivered a decisive mandate to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Choose cabinet with utmost care, for it may determine success or failure

Bangladesh’s most consequential election, held on Thursday, would change the course of politics in the country.

The 13th national election on Thursday was fair, but a major area of concern in this election was women’s representation.

What stood out immediately about Thursday's election was the peaceful atmosphere.

On Thursday, Bangladesh held an acceptable election after 18 years, one in which participation was not curtailed by the state itself.

It’s perhaps divine timing that V-Day falls just after the confirmation of election results, marked by the public’s overwhelming support for the party at the top and the strengthening of support bases for the parties in second place.

What is being decided is not only who will govern but whether the institutional settlement emerging from the uprising can acquire sufficient legitimacy to endure.

Let us begin with the sexual harassment ordinance. The most significant shift is symbolic and legal simultaneously as we deal with codification.

While all our expectations from this pivotal moment may not have been fulfilled, we have, nevertheless, obtained a roadmap for moving forward. Bangladesh is soon going to have a parliament with members elected through a largely credible competition.

Across the country, we noted a large turnout of the youngest of young and the frailest of elderly voters.

Both the Awami League and BNP have treated parliament like a stage that can be deserted whenever negotiations stall, criminal cases are filed, or street pressure seems more useful than parliamentary debate.

For those of us in our 20s and above, the 13th parliamentary election is the first where we hold real leverage.

As the interim government’s term comes to an end, power is set to be transferred to the democratically elected leadership.