Before the sun had fully risen, Tahera Yasmin, 64, stood at the head of the queue outside the Teachers’ Training College in Dhaka-10.
Clutching her ballot slip, she was flanked by her mother and her young daughter – three generations of a single family, ready to cast their votes together. For Tahera, the early morning wait was more than routine, it was a quiet celebration of civic participation.
Inside the college, polling officers and election staff arranged booths and verified lists, while a visible presence of law enforcement ensured order. By 7:30am on Thursday (12 February), Tahera and a dozen early voters moved forward to cast their ballots, and similar scenes played out in the men’s section, where Rabiul Islam, the presiding officer, oversaw six booths serving 3,089 registered male voters.
The first hours were slow. By 9:30am, only 218 men and 135 women had voted. Yet as the morning wore on, the centre came alive. Groups of friends arrived together, neighbours greeted each other after months apart, and first-time voters stepped into the booths with a mix of nerves and excitement. The polling station, once quiet, now hummed with the energy of civic engagement.
Raisa, casting her first-ever vote, described the experience as transformative. “It felt like more than just a right,” she said. “It felt like I was shaping my own future.” Her enthusiasm was mirrored across the centre, where young voters brought laughter, chatter, and a fresh energy to the day.
Meanwhile, seniors like Anisur Rahman found reassurance in the organised process. Arriving with caution and a few worries about possible disorder, he was guided through the booth efficiently. “It only took a minute or two,” he said. “It was peaceful, and the assistance for senior citizens made it a smooth experience.”
As the day progressed, voter turnout swelled, peaks and pauses interspersed with moments of quiet reflection. Ferdousi Akhter, another voter, said she hoped each vote would contribute to positive change, a sentiment felt across generations at the centre.
By the afternoon, lines thinned but a steady stream of people continued to arrive until the final minutes. By the close of voting, 965 women had cast their ballots alongside hundreds of men, culminating in a day marked by order, patience, and participation.
For Tahera Yasmin and her family, the day held a deeper resonance. “Bringing my mother and daughter to vote with me is a memory I will cherish forever,” she said. Across the busy streets of Dhaka, amid the city’s usual rush, this small polling centre had transformed into a space where democracy was not just exercised, but celebrated.
