NEW DELHI, Feb 13 — The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has won a two-thirds majority in the Jatiya Sangsad following yesterday's general elections, according to unofficial results today.
The BNP and its allies have won 213 seats in the 300-member unicameral legislative body, while the rival alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami has garnered 76 seats, according to provisional tallies published by local media.
Bangladesh’s Election Commission is expected to announce official results later. With the BNP set to return to power, Bangladesh's politics is entering a new era.
Its 60-year-old leader Tarique Rahman, the son of three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia and former president Ziaur Rahman, returned to Bangladesh from the United Kingdom in December last year after 17 years in exile.
Both the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami faced heavy crackdown under former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's long, unpopular rule, which ended in a mass uprising in August 2024.
Bangladeshis have also voted "yes" in a referendum on constitutional reforms, held in tandem with the Parliamentary election. These reforms will guide the nation's political course to ensure that past abuses of power are not repeated.
State news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported that voter turnout was 59.44 per cent, citing the Election Commission today. The nation of 175 million people has over 127 million registered voters.
