BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman greets his supporters as he leaves his residence in Dhaka. Photo: AFP
DHAKA:
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday celebrated a landslide victory in the first election held since a deadly uprising in 2024, in which leader Tarique Rahman became prime minister.
Figures from the Electoral Commission said the BNP alliance had won 212 seats, compared to 77 for the Islamist-led Jamaat-e-Islami alliance – which earlier said it had “serious questions about the integrity of the results process”.
Rahman told AFP two days before the vote he was “confident” his party – crushed under the autocratic 15-year rule of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – would regain power in the South Asian nation of 170 million people.
Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from participating.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday congratulated the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its leader, Tarique Rahman, on securing a landslide majority in the national elections and receiving the mandate to form the next government.
The President, in a statement, congratulated the people of Bangladesh on the successful completion of the polls across 299 seats with the participation of over 127 million registered voters.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s support for Bangladesh’s sovereignty and democratic aspirations, the President said Pakistan looked forward to working with the new government to strengthen cooperation in trade, defence, cultural exchanges and regional forums.
President Zardari said the Bangladesh elections marked an opportunity for South Asia to move beyond previous phases where regional cooperation, including within SAARC, was held hostage by India, which continued to paralyze the grand forum born in Bangladesh in 1985.
He expressed hope that the new political environment in Dhaka would contribute to a more balanced, independent and mutually respectful engagement across the region.
President Zardari also conveyed his best wishes for the continued stability, progress and prosperity of Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday congratulated the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Tarique Rahman, for his election victory.
“I also congratulate the people of Bangladesh on the successful conduct of the elections,” the prime minister wrote on X, adding that he looked forward to working closely with the new leadership.
The US embassy congratulated Rahman and the BNP on a “historic victory”, while neighboring India hailed Rahman’s “decisive victory” in a significant step after recent rocky relations with Bangladesh.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). “India will continue to support a democratic, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh.”
In a separate statement, Modi said he spoke to Rahman over the phone to convey his wishes. “As two close neighbors with deep-rooted historical and cultural ties, I reaffirmed India’s continued commitment to the peace, progress and prosperity of both our peoples,” the Indian leader said in a post on X.
The vote was largely peaceful and the country has been reported to have been calm since election day.
Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, had launched a disciplined grassroots campaign on a platform of justice and an end to corruption.
His party said it was “not satisfied with the process surrounding the election result” and claimed it had logged “repeated discrepancies and fabrications in unofficial results announcements”, but gave no further details.
The Election Commission said voter turnout was 59 percent in 299 constituencies out of 300 where voting took place.
Another 50 seats in parliament reserved for women will be named from party lists.
Senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi claimed a resounding victory and urged supporters to give thanks in prayer instead of celebrating in the streets.
“There will be no victory rally despite BNP’s sweeping victory,” Rizvi said in a statement.
