Bangladesh Nationalist Party claims victory in country's first election since 2024 uprising

DHAKA, Bangladesh — The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has claimed victory in the country's first election since the 2024 uprising, positioning itself to form the next government and potentially reshape Bangladesh's political landscape after years of intense rivalry and disputed polls.

The party's media unit said on X Friday it had secured enough seats in Parliament to govern on its own, though rival group Jamaat-e-Islami raised concerns over delayed results.

The final tally has not yet been announced by the Election Commission, but several local media outlets reported the BNP crossing the 151-seat threshold needed for a majority in the 350-member Parliament, which includes 50 reserved seats for women that are proportionately distributed among the winning parties.

The Election Commission said Friday the voter turnout in Thursday's election stood at 59.44%. More than 127 million voters were eligible, with almost half of them women and 5 million first-timers.

The BNP is headed by the 60-year-old Tarique Rahman, its prime ministerial candidate who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in self-exile in London. He is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, senior joint secretary-general of the BNP, extended congratulations to the people of Bangladesh on the party's electoral victory in a statement. Separately, Saleh Shibly, press secretary to Rahman, said the BNP leader called on his supporters to hold special prayers alongside the weekly Friday service and not to hold any celebratory rallies and processions.

US, China, India and Pakistan congratulate the BNP's Rahman

''The United States looks forward to working with you to achieve shared goals of prosperity and security for both our countries,'' U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T Christensen wrote on X.

China congratulated the BNP for taking the lead in the election.

''We look forward to working together with the new government of Bangladesh and writing new chapters of China-Bangladesh relations,'' the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka said in a statement.

Leaders from India and Pakistan also lauded the BNP leader.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted the win ''reflects the confidence of the Bangladeshi people in your leadership.'' He added that he looks forward to collaborating with him to deepen bilateral ties.

Historically, Bangladesh has enjoyed mixed relationships with the two regional powers, India and Pakistan.

India helped Bangladesh gain independence from its rival Pakistan through a bloody war in 1971. India had a warm relation with Bangladesh under previous Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted following the 2024 protests and sent to exile in India.

Pakistan remained sidelined under Hasina, but that has been reversed under the interim administration led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party makes inroads

The contest was largely a two-way race between the BNP and an 11-party alliance led by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, a conservative religious party whose growing influence has fueled concern, particularly among women and minority communities.

Shafiqur Rahman, who heads Jamaat-e-Islami, secured a seat in Dhaka and is poised to become the opposition leader in Parliament. But his party voiced objections to the handling of the election results.

The party's assistant secretary-general, Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, said the Election Commission had delayed announcing results in several constituencies, calling the holdups ''unusual.'' In a statement on Facebook, the party also claimed that candidates from the alliance it heads were ''narrowly and suspiciously losing'' in multiple areas.

The National Citizen Party, established by student leaders of the uprising as a break from traditional politics but later aligning with the Jamaat-e-Islami-led coalition, also left its mark. Party chief Nahid Islam and at least three top leaders secured victories.

The vote was seen as test of Bangladesh's democracy

Thursdays' vote took place amid tight security and concerns of democratic backsliding, rising political violence and the fraying of the rule of law.

The vote was held alongside a referendum for political reforms that include prime ministerial term limits and stronger checks on executive power. The result of that referendum is yet to be announced, but it is likely to be endorsed by voters.

BNP's Rahman spent years in exile

For much of the past 15 years, the BNP languished in opposition, boycotting several elections and accusing Hasina's government of systematic vote rigging and political repression. Tarique Rahman himself spent 17 years in self-imposed exile after Hasina's government pursued multiple corruption and other criminal cases against him. He has denied the charges, saying they were politically motivated.

Those cases were dropped after Hasina's government collapsed, paving the way for his return to Bangladesh. His campaign has cast him as a defender of democracy in a country whose politics have long been shaped by entrenched parties, military interventions, and allegations of electoral manipulation.

Tarique Rahman's BNP has for decades formed one half of the country's entrenched dynastic political system. His father, Ziaur Rahman, rose from the ranks of the army to become a dominant political figure, serving as the country's sixth president until his assassination in 1981. His mother Khaleda Zia, who first came to power in 1991, served two full five-year terms.

Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, said while the outcome appears as ''a blow to the spirit of the 2024 revolution,'' as the BNP has long been associated with corruption and dynastic politics, it will still face significant pressure to act differently this time.