- The BNP coalition wins 209 seats in a landslide victory.
- Jamaat-e-Islami promises positive resistance.
- Former Prime Minister Hasina calls the election a farce and demands its cancellation.
DHAKA: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party won a landslide parliamentary election on Friday, local television stations showed, securing a resounding mandate in a crucial vote expected to restore political stability to the South Asian nation.
The parliamentary election held on Thursday was Bangladesh’s first vote since the 2024 Gen Z-fueled uprising that toppled longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
A clear result 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 garment sector of the world’s second-largest garment exporter.
It was also the first national election following recent uprisings led by the under-30s that have emerged across the wider region. Nepal is due to hold a vote next month.
BNP sails to victory
Polls had given the BNP a lead and the party lived up to forecasts, with the coalition it dominates 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 it won a majority in the overnight vote count, the party thanked and congratulated the people and on Friday called for special prayers for the welfare of the country and its people.
“Despite the BNP winning the national general election by a huge margin, no celebratory procession or demonstration will be organized by the BNP,” the party said in a statement, urging people to pray at mosques, temples, churches and pagodas across the country.
The BNP is led by Chief Minister Tarique Rahman, the 60-year-old son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman.
Its campaign promises included financial support for poor families, a 10-year limit on a person remaining prime minister, boosting the economy with measures including foreign investment, and anti-corruption policies.
Jamaat promises positive resistance
Shafiqur Rahman, the leader of the BNP’s main rival, the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, conceded defeat with his party-led alliance on just 68 seats. Rahman said the Jamaat would not engage in “opposition politics” for the sake of it. “We will do positive politics,” he told reporters.
The National Citizen Party (NCP), led by youth activists who were instrumental in ousting Hasina and was part of the Jamaat-led alliance, won only five of the 30 seats it contested.
Despite the landslide result, the election had been seen as Bangladesh’s first truly competitive vote in years. Hasina’s Awami League party, which ruled the country for more than 15 years until she was ousted, was barred from contesting.
Turnout appeared on course Thursday to exceed the 42% recorded in the last election in 2024. Local media reported that more than 60% of registered voters were expected to have cast 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 a candidate died.
Alongside the election, a referendum was held on a number of constitutional reforms, including the establishment of a neutral interim government for electoral periods, restructuring the parliament into a bicameral legislature, increasing women’s representation, strengthening the independence of the judiciary and introducing a two-term limit for the prime minister.
There was no official word on the outcome of the referendum. Leading local newspaper the Daily Star reported that 73% of the nearly 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 long-term ally India, 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 polls closed, Hasina condemned the election as a “carefully planned farce”, held without her party and without real voter turnout. She said Awami League supporters had rejected the process.
“We demand the cancellation of this voterless, illegal and unconstitutional election … the lifting of the suspension imposed on the activities of the Awami League and the restoration of the voting rights of the people through the organization of a free, fair and inclusive election under a neutral interim government,” she said.
Opponents of Hasina say elections under her rule were often marred by boycotts and intimidation.
