Bangladesh: BNP Returns After Over Two Decades
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has swept to power in the country’s first elections since the dramatic ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2024, securing 151 of 300 seats — exactly the majority needed to form the next administration, as of the latest results’ trends. Led by Tarique Rahman, who returned from nearly two decades in exile in London, the BNP’s victory marks a stunning turnaround for a party that was decimated just two years ago. Polling on Thursday passed off peacefully under heavy security, with nearly a million personnel deployed amid recent volatility including clashes and attacks on minorities. This result propels Rahman, 60, on track to become Bangladesh’s next prime minister, fulfilling a political dynasty’s long-awaited comeback.
Tarique Rahman’s journey to the helm has been fraught with controversy and resilience. Arrested for corruption in 2007, he fled to London the following year and received a life sentence in absentia for an alleged attack on a Hasina rally — charges he has always dismissed as politically motivated. Hasina’s fall in August 2024, triggered by a student-led uprising that claimed over 1,400 lives amid protests against corruption and unemployment, led to the overturning of many of his convictions. Rahman returned home in December, only days before his mother, Khaleda Zia – a three-time prime minister imprisoned multiple times under Hasina – died. His father, Ziaur Rahman, was a key independence leader and president until his assassination in 1981. Embracing the students’ demands for judicial independence, prime ministerial term limits, and greater women’s representation, Rahman’s brief campaign positioned the BNP as champions of a more democratic Bangladesh.
Jamaat-e-Islami, securing 46 seats in second place, emerged as the BNP’s main rival but quickly questioned the vote-counting process. In a statement, the Islamist party highlighted “repeated inconsistencies and fabrications” in unofficial results, suspicious losses by allies, the Election Commission’s failure to release turnout figures, and alleged administrative bias. It urged patience and pledged to continue its “struggle for justice”. Despite these murmurs, the BNP declared victory on X, thanking citizens for voting in a “positive and peaceful atmosphere”. Official results are expected later on Friday from the interim government’s election authorities.
The election follows an extraordinary path. Hasina’s Awami League, accused of rigging the January 2024 poll, was barred from contesting this time — a move she branded a “farce” from her exile in India. The student revolution in July 2024 exposed deep frustrations over economic stagnation and graft, toppling her 15-year autocratic rule. Voters also faced a referendum on protest-inspired reforms, testing if Bangladesh could convert street anger into lasting change. BNP spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir hailed it as a “historic” mandate.
Internationally, reactions poured in swiftly. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Rahman on a “resounding victory”, pledging close ties to bolster “historic, brotherly” relations for South Asian peace and development. Dhaka-Islamabad bonds, frosty under Hasina, have thawed dramatically: a direct Dhaka-Karachi flight resumed last month after 14 years, Pakistan’s foreign minister visited Dhaka for the first time in 13, military talks advanced security cooperation, and trade surged 27% in 2024-25. Historically, the BNP has favoured warmer Pakistani links than Hasina’s Awami League.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered congratulations for a “decisive victory”, but ties remain strained. Hasina’s refuge in India has fuelled accusations of New Delhi propping up her regime, prompting Bangladesh’s interim government to demand her extradition. The US ambassador, Brent T. Christensen, also hailed a “historic victory” and anticipated collaboration.
This triumph revives the BNP after years in the wilderness, when Rahman led from exile while supporters languished in Hasina’s jails.
