Dhaka, Feb 13, KNT: Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Tarique Rahman has secured a decisive victory in Bangladesh’s first national election since the uprising that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Preliminary results available by Friday morning indicated that the BNP had won 181 seats, comfortably ahead of its nearest rival, Jamaat-e-Islami, which secured 61 seats. Party leaders expressed confidence that the final tally would cross 200 seats, potentially granting the BNP a two-thirds majority in parliament.
The election, widely described as the first genuinely competitive and peaceful contest in nearly two decades, followed a prolonged period of political turbulence. Hasina’s Awami League was barred from contesting, and its supporters boycotted the vote.
According to the election commission, voter turnout reached 60.69 percent, significantly higher than the previous poll. Postal participation stood at over 80 percent, marking the first time the overseas diaspora was formally included in the voting process.
India was among the first nations to extend congratulations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing the outcome as decisive and pledging continued support for a democratic and inclusive Bangladesh. The United States Embassy in Dhaka also termed the result historic.
Rahman, son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and former president Ziaur Rahman, returned from 17 years in exile last December and is poised to assume office as prime minister.
The vote followed the 2024 uprising and crackdown that, according to the United Nations, left an estimated 1,400 people dead. Analysts view the clear mandate as critical for restoring democratic institutions, strengthening rule of law and stabilizing the economy in the nation of 175 million.
The incoming government has pledged anti-corruption reforms, economic revival through foreign investment and structural constitutional changes, as Bangladesh enters a new political chapter. [KNT]
