Bangladesh Elections: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is poised to secure a landslide victory in the South Asian nation’s general election, as counting progressed, TV channels said on Friday. A BNP victory would see its chairman Tarique Rahman, who has spent 17 years in self-imposed exile, become the country’s next prime minister.
Elections were held on February 12 to elect a government to replace the interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which took over after the fall of the Awami League regime in August 2024.
The Electoral Commission (EC) will not make a formal statement yet.
Multiple media statistics showed that the BNP won more than 151 seats in the 300-seat parliament. Jamuna and Somoy TV channels reported that BNP secured 197 seats.
The Islamist-led coalition, led by Jamaat-e-Islami, won 63 seats as predicted, a huge jump from past results but far short of the outright victory it had campaigned for.
At least two-thirds of seats: BNP
GNP electoral commission Spokesman Mahdi Amin told reporters in Dhaka that the party was on track to at least win two-thirds of the seats.
“Backed by strong public support, the BNP will secure a two-thirds majority and form the government,” Amin told reporters, adding that party chief Tarique Rahman had won “both the seats” he contested for.
BNP vs Jamaat-e-Islami
The election was seen as a straight fight between the BNP and its former ally Jamaat-e-Islami, in the absence of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the now-disbanded Awami League.
The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has been in place for 18 months.
Voting for the 13th parliamentary election took place simultaneously with a referendum on the implementation of a comprehensive 84-point reform package known as the July National Charter.
An EC spokesperson said that the results in several places are still being processed and are likely to be announced within a few hours.
Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh in December last year after more than 17 years in self-imposed exile, asked party leaders and activists to offer special prayers across the country after the midday ‘Juma’ prayers instead of holding victory rallies.
EC rejects reports of voter manipulation
When the BNP seemed poised for victory, several videos surfaced on social media purportedly showing incidents of ballot tampering and rigging during voting in the Bangladeshi elections, sparking widespread outrage.
Several users described the development as a “vote-tampering festival” and some showed that election officials were also implicated in the alleged manipulation of ballots ahead of the count.
The Mint could not independently verify the alleged “manipulation” videos. All claims are based on claims made by social media users
With strong public support, the BNP secures a two-thirds majority and forms the government.
The EC has not yet published data on voter turnout. However, she denied allegations of voter manipulation and polling rigging, news agency PTI reported.