The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has claimed victory in the country’s first election since the Gen Z-driven uprising of 2024.
The BNP’s media unit said in a social media post that it had secured enough seats in parliament to govern on its own.
Final results have not yet been confirmed by the Election Commission, although several local media outlets have reported the party’s win.
The BNP is headed by Tarique Rahman, its prime ministerial candidate, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in self-exile in London.
The 60-year-old is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December.
The vote, largely seen as a two-way contest between the BNP and an 11-party alliance led by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, took place on Thursday amid tight security and concerns of democratic backsliding and rising political violence.
A clear outcome in the vote is widely seen as crucial for restoring political stability in the Muslim-majority country of 175 million people.
Read more:
Analysis – An era-defining election for Bangladesh
The bloody student-led revolt of July 2024, which the UN estimates resulted in the deaths of 1,400 people, led to the downfall of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, sending her to exile in India.
Hasina’s Awami League party has since been banned from all political activities, while an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been in place since her ousting.
Sheikh Hasina speaks during a press conference in 2014. Pic: AP
Alongside the election, people were also taking part in a referendum on changes to the constitution, including the introduction of a two-term limit for the prime minister and increasing women’s representation.
Bangladesh’s parliament has 350 seats, with 300 of those elected directly from single-member constituencies and 50 reserved for women.
Mounted police on patrol during the national election in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Pic: Reuters
The BNP, seen as the frontrunner in this election, was founded by Mr Rahman’s father, Ziaur Rahman, in 1978.
For much of the past two decades, the party has been in opposition to the Awami League, boycotting several elections and accusing Hasina’s government of systematic vote rigging and political repression.
Mr Rahman’s self-imposed exile to the UK came after Hasina’s government pursued multiple corruption and criminal cases against him – charges which he has denied.
The cases were dropped after Hasina’s government collapsed, paving the way for his return to the country.
The BNP’s victory claim has prompted messages of support from the leaders of other nations in the region.
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi said “India will continue to stand in support of a democratic, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh, while Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistan president, congratulated “the people of Bangladesh on their successful, peaceful polls”.
Mr Zardari added that Pakistan “reaffirms strong support for democratic partnership and shared progress ahead”.
