38% Bangladeshis still undecided on who to vote for: Survey

A recent survey has found that 38% of Bangladeshis are still undecided about who to vote for if there is an election now.

Asked which party they will vote for, 16% of respondents said they would vote for the BNP, 11% for Jamaat-e-Islami, and 9% for the Awami League which was ousted in a mass uprising on 5 August. 

And 2% of respondents said they would vote for any new political party formed by students. Just 1% said they would vote for Jatiya Party, according to the survey titled "Pulse Survey on Citizens' Perceptions, Expectations and Experiences", which was conducted between 15 October and 31 October this year.

It was carried out by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) of BRAC University. Its findings were disclosed and discussed at an event organised by BIGD at the Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) in Dhaka today (12 December). 

Data for the survey was collected from 4,158 men and women from all districts (51% rural and 49% urban population) through a telephone survey.

The survey found the July uprising led to a rise in expectations in August. However, when these expectations were not met as they anticipated, people began worrying about their future.

The result shows 56% of respondents believe Bangladesh is on the correct path, while 34% believe it is headed in the wrong direction.

The findings are in sharp contrast to findings from the BIGD Pulse Survey conducted in August 2024, where 71% of people expressed optimism about Bangladesh's political future, while 12% expressed pessimism, according to a press release issued yesterday.

"The [July] revolution led to a rise of expectations in August. However, when these expectations weren't met as anticipated, people began worrying about their future," said Mirza M Hassan, head of the governance and politics cluster at BIGD.

"The government should openly acknowledge people's concerns when planning and implementing institutional reforms." 

Speaking at the event, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said it must be understood that this is the fourth month of this interim government and it has inherited a broken economy and political system. 

"We have been working as a facilitator of reform and creating a space where everyone can participate," he said.

Farukh Wasif, director general of PIB, said, "The interim government has had to tackle a lot of challenges and they did so to the best of their capacity. However, after the July uprising, the government instilled a sense of euphoria in the public which raised expectations but did not present reality.

"The inflation of expectations was likely a result of the government's messaging which needs to be reassessed."

Anu Mohammad, professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University; Imran Matin, executive director, BIGD; and Firdous Azim, chairperson of the Department of English at BRAC University and chairperson of PIB, also spoke at the event.

Syeda Salina Aziz, a fellow of Practice in the Politics and Governance cluster at BIGD, moderated the event, while Ahmad Ahsan, director at the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, and Mohammad Aynul Islam, associate professor of Political Science at the University of Dhaka, among others, were present at the event.