Dhaka (TDI): Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) conceded defeat on Saturday, clearing the path for nationalist leader Tarique Rahman to assume the office of prime minister after his party secured a commanding victory in the country’s 13th general election.
Official figures released by the Bangladesh Election Commission showed that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Rahman, won 212 seats, compared with 77 secured by the Jamaat-led alliance. The vote, held on Thursday, was the first national election since a mass uprising in 2024 forced former premier Sheikh Hasina from power.
Rahman’s rise marks a dramatic political comeback. The 60-year-old BNP chief returned to Bangladesh in December after spending 17 years in exile in Britain. His return reshaped the political landscape and reinvigorated the party’s support base ahead of the polls.
He hails from one of the country’s most influential political families. His father, former president Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in 1981, while his mother, Khaleda Zia, served three terms as prime minister and was a dominant political figure for decades.
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Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who has overseen the country since the 2024 unrest, said Rahman’s leadership could help steer Bangladesh toward stability, inclusiveness and economic progress.
Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman had initially alleged irregularities and signaled he would challenge the results. However, a day later he publicly accepted the outcome, saying that democratic leadership required respecting the people’s verdict and the rule of law.
He pledged that his party would serve as a principled and peaceful opposition, holding the incoming government accountable. Jamaat leaders emphasized that winning 77 seats marked a significant expansion of their parliamentary presence compared with previous elections.
The Awami League, led by Hasina, was barred from participating in the polls. Hasina, currently in India and sentenced in absentia for crimes against humanity, dismissed the vote as unconstitutional.
International reaction was swift. The United States and India both congratulated Rahman and the BNP on their victory, while China and Pakistan also conveyed their support. Observers from the European Union described the election as credible, though the International Republican Institute cautioned that the broader political environment remains fragile.
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Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker described the vote as the most successful in recent memory, noting that voting was cancelled at only one of more than 42,000 polling stations. Turnout was reported at 59 percent across 299 constituencies.
