Immediately after the parliamentary election in January last year, a Dhaka Tribune opinion poll found that an overwhelming majority of 77% respondents wanted fresh election as soon as possible.
Six months later in July, another opinion poll found that fully 53% of respondents wanted elections only after the current government’s term was finished, with only 25% wanting fresh election as soon as possible.
However, as the country’s political arena heats up again, the preference has started swinging the other way.
A latest poll, conducted by interviewing 600 randomly selected adult mobile phone users in the country from December 28 to 31, shows that now 49% people want to see an election before the Awami League completes its tenure against 47% who wish to see the government see out its term.
Thirty five percent of them want the election as soon as possible, 5% within a year and 9% within two to three years.
However, in the list of the most important issues facing Bangladesh right now, fresh elections came only fifth, behind education, infrastructure, law and order and economic development. Only 8.7% respondents say the government should prioritise holding a fair parliamentary election right now.
In the opinion poll conducted after the January election last year, only 16% thought the then new Awami League-led government should complete its tenure.
In the latest poll, when asked who they will vote for if there is an election right now, 41.3% said they will vote for the Awami League, 33.7% BNP, 5.3% Jatiya Party and only 1% Jamaat.
Interestingly, the percentage of people who thinks Awami League will win is higher than that of those who will vote for them; around 46.5% said the party will win although nearly 74% of the respondents said the party has been successful in running the country over the last one year.
Similarly, while 33.6% people think the BNP will win the election; more than 71% respondents said the BNP has failed to present itself as an alternative to the current government.
Some 11.3% people think that other parties outside the Awami League and BNP-led alliances will win if there is an election right now.