Europe Asia News

This marks the first election since student-led protests in 2024 ended the 15-year rule of increasingly autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina.

At around 9 a.m. local time, the BNP had won 181 seats, while its Islamist rival Jamaat-e-Islami secured 61 seats. As counting continued, BNP leaders said they were confident the party would win 200 seats and achieve a two-thirds majority.

India was among the first countries to congratulate the BNP. Since Hasina’s fall, relations between the two neighboring countries had deteriorated, and the Indian Prime Minister’s message congratulating the BNP on their “decisive” victory was seen as an olive branch to the new government.

Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile in London, is now preparing to become the country’s next prime minister. He comes from one of the nation’s most powerful political dynasties; the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981.

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman conceded defeat after his party and its allies secured at least 61 seats. Rahman said the party would not engage in “opposition politics for the sake of opposition.” “We will pursue positive politics,” he told reporters.

Nearly 1,400 protesters were killed during the uprising – it is alleged that Hasina directly ordered the crackdown, but she denies the claim.

Hasina’s party, the Awami League, had been banned from participating in the election.