Official results were expected on Friday but initial projections showed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party leading with 151 seats — enough to have a majority and form a new government with prospects for the BNP's Tarique Rahman becoming the country's next leader, according to Dhaka-based Jamuna TV.
BNP's main challenger is Islamist party
The BNP's main challenger, an 11-party alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami party, garnered 40 seats and three seats by others, the TV station said.
Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in self-exile in London, is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December.
Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy in which 300 lawmakers are elected through direct voting. Another 50 seats are reserved for women.
After a slow start Thursday, crowds converged on polling stations in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere later in the day. By 2 p.m., more than 47% voters had cast their ballots, the Election Commission said. Political party representatives were present as election observers, and security officials kept a close watch on Thursday evening.
More than 127 million people were eligible to vote in the country's first election since Hasina's ouster after weeks of mass protests that led Hasina to flee the country.
As the voting closed, Hasina's Awami League party, which was barred from the election, rejected Thursday's election.
“Today's so-called election by Yunus, who seized power illegally and unconstitutionally, was essentially a well-planned farce,” the former governing party said in a statement on X, referring to interim leader Muhammad Yunus.
“The people's voting rights, democratic values, and the spirit of the constitution were completely disregarded in this deceptive, voter-less election conducted without the Awami League,” it said.
‘Birthday of a new Bangladesh’
Rahman has pledged to rebuild democratic institutions, restore the rule of law and revive the struggling economy.
Television stations reported late Thursday that Rahman won in two constituencies, one in Dhaka and another in his northern ancestral home.
Challenging the BNP is an 11-party alliance led by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami which was banned under Hasina but has gained prominence since her removal.
The conservative religious group’s growing influence has fueled concern, particularly among women and minority communities, that social freedoms could come under pressure, if they come to power. Bangladesh is more than 90% Muslim, while around 8% are Hindu.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman expressed optimism after casting his vote at a polling station.
The election "is a turning point,” he told The Associated Press. “People demand change. They desire change. We also desire the change.”
Election follows turbulent period
Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has said the interim government was committed to delivering a credible and transparent election. As part of that effort, around 500 international observers and foreign journalists were present, including delegations from the European Union and the Commonwealth, to which Bangladesh belongs.
“This is a day of great joy. Today is the birthday of a new Bangladesh,” Yunus told reporters.
The election follows a turbulent period marked by mob violence, attacks on Hindu minorities and the media, the growing influence of Islamists and weakening of the rule of law.
It could reshape the domestic stability of Bangladesh, a country whose post-1971 history since gaining independence from Pakistan has been marked by entrenched political parties, military coups and allegations of vote rigging. Young voters, many of whom played a central role in the 2024 uprising, are expected to be influential. Around 5 million first-time voters are eligible.
“I think it is a very crucial election, because this is the first time we can show our opinion with freedom,” said Ikram ul Haque, 28, adding that past elections were far from fair.
“We are celebrating the election. It is like a festival here,” he said.
Referendum for reforms
Thursday’s election is a critical test not just of leadership, but of trust in Bangladesh’s democratic future. Voters can say “Yes” to endorse major reform proposals that stemmed from a national charter signed by major political parties last year.
If a majority of voters favor the referendum, the newly elected parliament could form a constitutional reform council to make the changes with 180 working days from its first session. The proposals include the creation of new constitutional bodies and changing parliament from a single body to a bicameral legislature with an upper house empowered to amend the constitution by a majority vote.
The BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami both signed the document with some changes after initially expressing some dissent.
Hasina’s Awami League party — still a major party in Bangladesh though banned from the polls — and some of its former allies were excluded from the discussion. From exile, Hasina denounced the election for excluding her party.
Some critics have also said that the referendum has limited the options put before voters.