New era for Bangladesh after centre-right BNP wins election landslide | ITV News

Описание: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by the son of a former prime minister was projected to form the next government as the South Asian nation on Thursday held its first election since mass protests toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2024.

Voting was largely peaceful in an election seen as a test of Bangladesh's democracy after years of political turmoil including what was dubbed as the Generation Z uprising that forced Hasina into exile in India.

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.”

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