DHAKA — July 20, 2025: Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami gathered in the capital on Saturday, calling for a major overhaul of the country’s electoral system as national elections approach next year.

The party has surged in popularity since the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a popular uprising last year. During her tenure, Hasina had taken a tough stance against Jamaat, including canceling its registration and banning the party from holding public rallies for decades.

However, the Supreme Court recently restored Jamaat-e-Islami’s registration, allowing it to contest the general elections scheduled for April 2026.

“We have suffered a lot in the last 15 years. We went to jail, we were robbed of our political rights,” said Mohammad Abdul Mannan, a 29-year-old party activist. Protesters braved the intense heat to press a seven-point demand that includes adopting proportional representation in parliament.

“We want a system where winners can’t take all — we too deserve a voice,” Mannan said. “Elections shouldn’t be held unless our demands are fulfilled.”

By midday, tens of thousands had gathered at the Suhrawardy Udyan memorial and overflowed into the surrounding park. Many wore T-shirts and headbands emblazoned with the party’s logo or displayed badges shaped like the party’s electoral symbol, a scale.

Md Shafiqul Islam, 58, traveled from Bogura, a stronghold of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, expressing support for Jamaat’s promise to establish an Islamic state. “I felt it was my duty as a Muslim to attend,” he said.

A private-sector worker, speaking anonymously, defended the party, saying, “Jamaat is being blamed unfairly. It did nothing except uphold the integrity of the nation.”