- The BNP coalition wins 209 seats in a landslide victory.
- Jamaat-e-Islami promises positive opposition.
- Former Prime Minister Hasina calls the elections a farce and demands their cancellation.
DHAKA: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party won a landslide parliamentary election on Friday, local television stations showed, securing a commanding mandate in a crucial vote expected to restore political stability to the South Asian nation.
The parliamentary elections held on Thursday were the first in Bangladesh since the 2024 Generation Z-driven uprising that toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
A clear outcome had been seen as crucial to stability in the Muslim-majority country of 175 million after months of deadly anti-Hasina unrest that disrupted daily life and hit major industries, including the textile sector of the world’s second-largest clothing exporter.
It was also the first national election to follow recent uprisings led by under-30s that have emerged across the region. Nepal will hold a vote next month.
BNP sails to victory
Opinion polls had given the BNP an advantage and the party lived up to predictions, with the dominant coalition winning 209 seats to secure an overwhelming two-thirds majority in the 300-member Jatiya Sangsad, or House of the Nation, Jamuna TV showed.
Soon after securing the majority in the late-night vote count, the party thanked and congratulated the people and called for special prayers on Friday for the well-being of the country and its people.
“Despite winning the national parliamentary elections by a large margin of votes, the BNP will not organize any celebratory processions or demonstrations,” the party said in a statement, urging people to pray at mosques, temples, churches and pagodas across the country.
The BNP is led by leading prime ministerial candidate Tarique Rahman, the 60-year-old son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and former president Ziaur Rahman.
His campaign promises included financial aid for poor families, a 10-year limit for an individual to remain prime minister, boosting the economy through measures including foreign investment and anti-corruption policies.
Jamaat promises positive opposition
Shafiqur Rahman, leader of the BNP’s main rival, the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, conceded defeat with his party-led alliance winning just 68 seats. Rahman said the Jamaat would not engage in “opposition politics” for the sake of it. “We will pursue positive politics,” he told reporters.
The National Citizen Party (NCP), led by young activists who were instrumental in Hasina’s overthrow and were part of the Jamaat-led alliance, won only five of the 30 seats it contested.
Despite the landslide result, the elections were seen as the first truly competitive elections in Bangladesh in years. Hasina’s Awami League party, which ruled the country for more than 15 years until her overthrow, was banned from participating.
Turnout appeared on Thursday to surpass the 42% recorded in the last election in 2024. Local media reported that more than 60% of registered voters were expected to have cast their ballots.
More than 2,000 candidates – including many independents – were on the ballot, and at least 50 parties contested seats, a national record. Voting in one constituency was postponed after the death of a candidate.
In parallel with the elections, a referendum was held on a series of constitutional reforms, including the establishment of a neutral interim government for electoral periods, the restructuring of parliament into a bicameral legislature, increasing the representation of women, strengthening judicial independence, and introducing a two-term limit for the prime minister.
There was no official information on the result of the referendum. The main local newspaper, the Daily Star, reported that 73% of the almost 296,000 votes cast in the referendum said “Yes” and the rest said “No”.
Hasina calls vote a farce
Hasina is in self-imposed exile in India, her long-term ally, which has frayed ties between Dhaka and New Delhi and opened the window for China to expand its influence in Bangladesh.
In a statement sent after polling stations closed, Hasina denounced the elections as a “carefully planned farce,” held without her party and without real voter participation. He said Awami League supporters had rejected the process.
“We demand the cancellation of these voterless, illegal and unconstitutional elections… the removal of the suspension imposed on the activities of the Awami League and the restoration of voting rights of the people by organizing free, fair and inclusive elections under a neutral caretaker government,” he said.
Hasina’s opponents say elections under her rule were frequently marred by boycotts and intimidation.
