Bangladesh Nationalist Party Secures Landslide Victory in First Post-Coup Election; Tarique Rahman Poised to Become Prime Minister

Dhaka. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has secured a massive victory in the first election held after the ousting of the government in 2024, making Tarique Rahman almost certain to become the next Prime Minister.

According to the Election Commission's data, the BNP alliance won 212 out of the total 300 parliamentary seats, while the Islamist-led Jamaat-e-Islami alliance secured 77 seats.

Two days before the voting, Rahman had expressed confidence that his party, defeated during the 15-year autocratic rule of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, would regain power in the South Asian nation of 170 million people.

Rahman returned to Bangladesh last December after living in self-exile in London for over 17 years, following mass protests that led to the removal of Sheikh Hasina in 2024.

BNP's Prime Ministerial candidate Tarique Rahman is set to become the country's new leader after the Election Commission data showed the party achieved a 'decisive victory' on Friday.

Heading into Thursday's vote, Rahman had expressed confidence in securing a strong enough mandate to govern alone. His dream has come true. He has pledged to restore peace and stability under a democratic government following a period of rising authoritarianism.

Encouraging voters to participate before the historic vote, Rahman had said, "I believe that if the people of Bangladesh come out to vote, the conspiracy will not succeed. My best wishes to everyone for the beginning of a new democracy."

Rahman is the eldest son of the late former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and the late former President Ziaur Rahman. Ziaur Rahman was assassinated during a military coup in 1981. Khaleda Zia entered politics after her husband's death and successfully took the reins of power, leading Bangladesh for the first time in 1991.

Rahman has been serving as the acting chairman of the BNP since 2018, after his mother, Khaleda Zia, was imprisoned.

Rahman went to London for medical treatment in 2008, but while absent from his homeland, he was tried and convicted in several cases. He was convicted in absentia in a case linked to a conspiracy to assassinate Sheikh Hasina.

Those verdicts were overturned after Hasina was removed from power in 2024, removing the legal obstacles to his return.