Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins parliamentary elections

The alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has won the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh by a landslide, surpassing its nearest competitors by more than one and a half times in votes.

The party is set to secure 212 of 300 seats, according to The Daily Star. The BNP had been out of power for nearly 20 years prior to this victory.

In 27 constituencies, the BNP-led 11-party alliance, which included the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, won by margins exceeding 100,000 votes. The largest lead was recorded in the Rangamati constituency, with over 170,300 votes.

The 60-year-old BNP leader Tarique Rahman is the son of the late President Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981, and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who led the government for three terms and passed away in December 2025. On February 14, Rahman called for national unity, and he is scheduled to be sworn in as Prime Minister on February 16.

These elections were the first since July 2024, when mass anti-government protests forced Sheikh Hasina to resign after 20 years in office. She later fled to India.

By Vugar Khalilov