Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins landslide majority in first election since Gen Z uprising
..As son of former leader set to become prime minister
Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a landslide parliamentary election on Friday, returning to power after nearly two decades and positioning party leader Tarique Rahman to become Prime Minister as the country emerges from months of unrest and economic disruption.
Rahman, the son of former premier Khaleda Zia and assassinated former President Ziaur Rahman, faces immediate challenges in restoring political stability, reviving investor confidence and rebuilding key industries; including the garment sector, after prolonged turmoil that followed the collapse of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2024.
An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been in charge since then.
The official count in a vote viewed as the South Asian nation’s first truly competitive election in years gave the BNP and its allies at least 212 of the 299 seats up for grabs, the Election Commission said. The opposition Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies won 77 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad, or House of the Nation.
Polling officials begin the counting of votes cast for the national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday.
Rahman, 60, has not yet commented even though more than 12 hours have passed since trends in favor of his party became clear, but the BNP asked people to refrain from large celebrations and offer special prayers instead.
He did not speak to media gathered outside his house in Dhaka, smiling and waving from his vehicle when he left for a mosque, local media reported.
“Despite winning by a large margin of votes, no celebratory procession or rally shall be organized,” the party said in a statement issued in the early hours of Friday.
The National Citizen Party (NCP), led by youth activists who played a key role in toppling Hasina, won just five of the 30 seats that it contested. The NCP was part of the Jamaat-led alliance.
A clear outcome had been viewed as key for stability in the Muslim-majority nation of 175 million after months of deadly anti-Hasina unrest disrupted everyday life and industries including garment manufacturing. Bangladesh is the No. 2 exporter of apparel in the world.
“A strong majority gives the BNP the parliamentary strength to pass reforms efficiently and avoid legislative paralysis. That alone can create short-term political stability,” said Selim Raihan, an economics professor at the University of Dhaka.
In its manifesto, the BNP promised to prioritize job creation, protect low-income and marginal households and ensure fair prices to farmers.
“If the factories run regularly and we get our wages on time, that’s what matters to us. I just want the BNP government to bring back stability so more orders come to Bangladesh and we can survive,” Josna Begum, 28, a garment worker and mother of two, told Reuters.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the US ambassador to Bangladesh, Brent T. Christensen, were among the first to congratulate Rahman on his party’s victory.
India, China and the United States are vying for influence in Bangladesh, with the US Ambassador telling reporters earlier this week that Washington was concerned about growing Chinese influence in the country.
New Delhi-Dhaka relations have nosedived since Hasina fled and took refuge in India, badly affecting visa services and cricket ties between the two neighbors.
