Inserts:

00:03 Report / Nimisha Jaiswal & Sharique Ahmad
01:17 Nimisha Jaiswal / DW Correspondent
01:42 Mohammad Khokon / Dhaka resident
02:59 Awami League supporter
03:33 Abdul Kader / Student leader
03:58 Anika Tahsina / Student leader 
04:36 Nimisha Jaiswal / DW Correspondent

Script:

00:01-00:16
((Shots of rally, Old Dhaka neighbourhood))
Posters and symbols of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party are everywhere in this Old Dhaka neighbourhood. People here tell us they were illegally prevented from voting when the Awami League was in charge, so they're excited to finally vote freely again. 

00:17-00:27
Vox 1 (Bangla)
We were under extreme persecution. After 17 years, now we are doing well. Our prayer to Allah is that BNP will be victorious, and we will come to power. 

00:27- 00:32
+++ Vox 2 (Bangla)
If this is a fair election, god willing the BNP will win many seats and form the government. 

00:37-00:39
((Shots of streets))
Others are less enthusiastic. 

00:40-00:59
+++ Vox (Bangla)
The BNP was excluded before, now the Awami league is being excluded. So what’s the difference? (patch) [50:27–50:36] People like us are basically being forced into a limited choice. There aren’t enough options; it would be better if there were more choices.

1:00-1:16
((Shots of streets))
Although the credibility of the last three elections nationwide has been challenged - on paper, in this area, the Awami League has won everything since 2008. And yet, it seems nearly impossible to find anyone here who’ll admit to supporting them.

1:16-1:26
+++ PTC
We've spent the last couple hours speaking to dozens of people, but not a single one has admitted to being an Awami League supporter. Those who didn't want to appear on camera said they were uncomfortable, and afraid of the consequences.

1:26-1:40
((Shots of streets, elderly man in shop))
This area has been peaceful since Sheikh Hasina’s government was deposed in 2024. But everyone has heard reports of violence against Awami League supporters. Mohammad Khokon is the first person we find who admits he's ever voted for the Awami League. 

1:41-1:58
+++ SOT Mohammad Khokon, Dhaka resident (Bangla)
When it was Awami League's time, I voted for them. Then came the BNP's turn, and I voted for them too. (patch) You know how it is. For instance right now, there is a wave of support for BNP and the Jamaat.

1:59-2:10
((Night shots of street from car, man talking in profile in car))
It takes until dark to find a dedicated Awami League supporter who’ll talk with us - and he asks that we hide his face. He says people like him are scared of repercussions for having supported Hasina.

2:10-2:23
+++ PTC in car
We were just setting up to do an off-camera interview with an Awami League supporter, but we are on the move yet again because there was a BNP rally close by, and it wasn't considered safe for him or for us to continue doing the interview over there. 

2:24-2:40
((Shots of car, in street))
Once we find a quiet spot, he tells us he’s not going to vote, since his party is not on the ballot. But he says if his fellow Awami supporters HAD to choose, they'd never pick the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, with which his party has had a historic animosity. 

2:40-2:45
+++ SOT Awami League supporter (English)
Jamaat is not a party from Bangladesh - they are supported from Pakistan. 

2:45-2:57
((Shots of man from behind, reporter listening))
He also suggests Awami League supporters might be kept out of the polling booths - though he denies evidence that Hasina's regime did that to opponents. He says that those who are able to vote would likely help the BNP.

2:57-3:10
+++ SOT Awami League supporter (English) 
If they give the permission to go inside the vote center then they will be benefited, because Awami League people, if they don't want to give their vote to Jamaat, so definitely they are going to vote for BNP.

3:10 - 3:12 - Breathe

3:12-3:31
((Shots of student leaders sitting together))
Student leaders Abdul Kader and Anika Tahsina spent many days in 2024 here, outside Dhaka University, helping organize the protest movement that took down Hasina. They’re hopeful their efforts will lead to a free and fair election. But they’re worried about potential election interference and violence.  

3:31-3:56
+++ SOT Abdul Kader, Student leader (Bangla)
Look, no political party led the July uprising. It was ignited and led by the students. And it was the ordinary people who took to the streets to ensure its victory. (patch) So existing parties are under pressure; they know if they ignore these aspirations, they will be thrown into the dustbin of history—just like the Awami League.

3:56-4:22
+++ SOT Anika Tahsina, Student leader (English)
I really want female candidates to be in the Parliament, I'm really rooting for them. It's my first time voting so I'm really excited, but in my area there is no female candidate. [patch] What actually saddens me is that we are again back into the binary political culture because there is no, I mean, third party or a new party. 

4:22-4:34
((Shots of Dhaka University))
There are 41 million first-time voters in this election. Some tell us that under the Hasina regime, they were turned away from their polling booths. Others are only now old enough to vote.

4:35-4:50
+++ PTC
Here at Dhaka University, those who agreed to talk to us said they were excited to vote in an election that was finally free and fair, after almost two decades. But those who did not want to come on camera, said that they will not be voting, as they don't really see that much changing.

5:50-5:01
127 million people in Bangladesh are eligible to vote. How many of them actually do, will show how far the two leading parties have convinced them they can be trusted with the country’s future.

5:01 - VO ends
5:07 - shots end

5:50-5:01
127 million people in Bangladesh are eligible to vote. How many of them actually do, will show how far the two leading parties have convinced them they can be trusted with the country’s future.+++