A nationwide survey has revealed that 45.79 percent of respondents believe the Awami League should be allowed to participate in the next general election, even though the party is currently banned from political activities.
The findings come from the second phase of the “People’s Election Perception” survey, conducted by Innovision Consulting with support from the civic platform Voice for Reform and BRAIN. The results were unveiled on Wednesday at the National Archives Auditorium in Dhaka by Innovision Consulting’s Managing Director Rubaiyat Sarwar.
The survey was carried out between September 2 and 15, covering 10,413 voters of various ages across the country.
According to the report, voter indecision about casting ballots has increased since March. In Innovision’s previous poll in March, 62 percent said they planned to vote; in September, this figure dropped to 57.8 percent.
Of the 4,721 respondents who disclosed their preferred party, 41.3 percent said they would vote for the BNP, 30.3 percent for Jamaat-e-Islami, and 4.1 percent for the National Citizen Party (NCP). About 18.8 percent favored the Awami League despite its current ban — a five-point increase since March.
When asked about the party’s eligibility to contest elections, 45.79 percent said Awami League should be allowed to participate, while 45.58 percent felt the party should not be allowed before facing trial.
The survey also indicates that if Awami League is barred from the election, BNP and Jamaat would see gains, with 45.6 percent of respondents favoring BNP, 33.5 percent backing Jamaat, and 8.3 percent saying they would abstain from voting altogether.
