BNP Wins Bangladesh Elections
PTI
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday claimed victory in the crucial general elections, marred by sporadic incidents of violence, to elect a new government to replace the interim administration, which took charge after the fall of the Awami League regime in August 2024.
“The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is set to form the government after victory in the majority of seats,” BNP’s media cell posted on X.
The Election Commission (EC) is yet to make a formal announcement.
According to multiple media reports, EC is expected to declare BNP the winner in the general elections with tallies in predawn hours on Friday, suggesting it got the majority of seats in parliament.
Different media tallies suggested BNP received more than 151 seats in the 300-seat parliament on Thursday’s daylong voting, enough to form the next government, ending the 18-month rule of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
According to an EC spokesperson, the results in several seats are still being processed and are likely to be announced in a few hours.
The congratulatory messages have already started pouring in for the BNP, while the EC is yet to announce the official results.
The election was seen as a direct contest between the BNP and its former ally Jamaat-e-Islami, in the absence of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina’s now debarred Awami League.
The voting for the 13th parliamentary elections was held along with a referendum on the implementation of a complex 84-point reform package, known as the July National Charter.
BNP was in power last time between 2001 and 2006, when Jamaat was its crucial partner, with two of its leaders serving as ministers.
Jamaat has raised allegations of “abnormal delays” and “result tampering”, warning that it would launch a tough movement if the public mandate were “snatched away”.
The BNP had earlier announced that if it wins the election, then its chairman and former premier Khaleda Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, would be the next prime minister of Bangladesh.
If the party wins, Rahman will be Bangladesh’s first male prime minister in 35 years.
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