Bangladesh Nationalist Party claims a decisive election victory, but rival Jamaat-e-Islami alleges irregularities in the results process.
DHAKA: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) claimed a thumping win in the first elections held since a deadly 2024 uprising.
Its leader, Tarique Rahman, is poised to become prime minister as the party is projected to have secured a clear parliamentary majority.
Broadcasters projected the BNP had pushed well past the 150-seat threshold needed for a majority.
The Jamuna television channel projected the BNP had secured 212 seats, while its main rival Jamaat-e-Islami won 74.
Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist party leading a wider coalition, said it had “serious questions about the integrity of the results process”.
It claimed it had logged “repeated inconsistencies and fabrications in unofficial result announcements” but did not immediately give specific evidence.
The Election Commission has suggested it will not release final results until later for 299 of the 300 constituencies where voting took place.
Senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi claimed a resounding win in a party statement.
“There will be no victory rally despite the BNP’s sweeping victory,” the statement said, calling for prayers instead of street celebrations.
The US embassy swiftly congratulated Rahman and the BNP for a “historic victory”.
Neighbouring India praised his “decisive win” despite rocky recent relations, while Pakistan’s prime minister hailed the Bangladeshi people’s “successful conduct of elections”.
Polling day was largely peaceful, according to the Election Commission, which reported only “a few minor disruptions”.
This followed a campaign where political clashes killed five people and injured more than 600.
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who will step down once the new government takes power, urged all sides to stay calm.
“We may have differences of opinion, but we must remain united in the greater national interest,” the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said.
His administration barred ousted premier Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party from contesting the polls.
Hasina, sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, issued a statement from hiding in India decrying an “illegal and unconstitutional election”.
Voters also took part in a referendum on a sweeping democratic reform charter championed by Yunus.
Television projections suggested the electorate had backed the proposals for prime ministerial term limits and greater judicial independence.
