BNP Secures Victory in Bangladesh General Election; Tarique Rahman Set to Become Prime Minister

Dhaka: With clear support reflected in the results, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is set to return to power. Prime ministerial candidate and party chairman Tarique Rahman won in both of the constituencies he contested.

In the 350-member Parliament, voting was held in 299 seats on Thursday, with 47.9 percent of voters casting their ballots. Reports indicate that BNP is continuing to advance beyond the majority threshold. In a post from its media cell on X, the party claimed it has surpassed the required majority to form the government.

According to preliminary data from various media outlets, out of the 300 parliamentary seats, BNP has won more than 151 seats. Once the full results are compiled, the Election Commission of Bangladesh (EC) will issue an official statement. Voting in one seat was postponed due to the death of a candidate.

Additionally, 50 seats are reserved for women, which are allocated proportionally to parties based on their performance. BNP is returning to power after one and a half decades. If the final results confirm the current trend, Tarique Rahman will become the Prime Minister. He has pledged to build a safer and more independent Bangladesh.

Tarique Rahman is the son of former President Ziaur Rahman. His mother, Khaleda Zia, served as Prime Minister three times and passed away recently. Tarique returned to Bangladesh in late 2025 after years of self-imposed exile following political prosecution during the Hasina regime.

In August 2024, when Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government fell, an interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus governed the country for 18 months. This marks the first general election held since that transition.

The election has largely been viewed as a contest between BNP and its former ally, Jamaat-e-Islami. Voting took place amid a ban on the Awami League from participating, as Sheikh Hasina remains in exile in India.

The student movement “Students Against Discrimination,” which played a major role in the agitation against Hasina and later formed the National Citizens Party, participated in the election in alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami.

Since Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, BNP has come to power four times, first in 1979. In 1991, Khaleda Zia became Prime Minister. After 35 years, Bangladesh is poised to have a male Prime Minister again.

Following the start of voting, some areas reported incidents of violence. The EC’s Senior Secretary stated that out of 42,651 polling stations, 36,031 had reported a turnout of 47.91 percent by 2:00 pm. The EC also confirmed that around one million security personnel were deployed, marking the country’s largest-ever security arrangement for an election.

After the official announcement of the results, the process of forming the new government will begin.