The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has claimed a decisive victory in general elections, a result that could bring stability to the country months after a Gen Z-led uprising toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The latest counts in what is seen as the nation's first truly competitive vote in years showed the BNP and its allies held at least 212 of the 299 seats up for grabs, domestic TV channels reported. The opposition Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies won 70 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad, or House of the Nation.
The BNP, which is to return to power after 20 years, thanked the public and called for special prayers on Friday for the country and its people. "Despite winning ... by a large margin of votes, no celebratory procession or rally shall be organised," the party said in a statement.
Set for stability
A clear outcome was considered key for stability in the Muslim-majority nation of 175 million people, after months of deadly anti-Hasina unrest. Protests disrupted everyday life, including the garment industry – Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of garments in the world.
BNP leader Tarique Rahman is widely expected to be sworn in as prime minister. The son of the party's founder, former president Ziaur Rahman, a leading independence figure who was assassinated in 1981. In December, Tarique returned to the capital Dhaka after living in exile for 17 years.
Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, 85, had taken control of the country on an interim basis after Ms Hasina fled to India in August 2024. She long dominated Bangladeshi politics along with Mr Rahman's mother, Khaleda Zia.
The manual counting of paper ballots will continue until at least noon on Friday, officials said.
The margin of the BNP's victory passes its 2001 victory, when it won 193 seats, although Ms Hasina's Awami League, which ruled for 15 years and was barred from contesting this poll, secured a higher tally of 230 in 2008. But bigger election wins recorded by either party in other elections were widely seen as contentious.
'Positive politics'
Crowds of BNP supporters cheered as they gathered outside the party headquarters in Dhaka as the scale of the landslide became clear. Shafiqur Rahman, leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, conceded defeat and vowed that his party would "do positive politics".
However, the National Citizen Party, led by youth activists who played a key role in toppling Ms Hasina and that was a part of the Jamaat-led alliance, won five of the 30 seats it contested.
Turnout appeared on track to exceed the 42 per cent recorded in the last election in 2024, with media reporting that more than 60 per cent of registered voters were expected to have participated.
More than 2,000 candidates, including many independents, were on the ballot, which featured a record number of at least 50 parties. Voting in one constituency was postponed after a candidate died.
More than two million voters voted "yes", while more than 850,000 said "no" in a referendum on constitutional reforms held alongside the election, Broadcaster Jamuna TV reported. No official result has been announced.
The changes include two-term limits for prime ministers and stronger judicial independence and women's representation, as well as providing for neutral interim governments during elections and the establishment of a second house of the 300-seat parliament.
