BNP SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE OVERNIGHT
The Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami conceded defeat late on Thursday night once trends became clear, but said in a statement on Friday that it was “not satisfied” with the process and asked its followers to stay patient.
Now in exile in New Delhi, Hasina long dominated Bangladesh politics along with Rahman’s mother, Khaleda Zia, while his father was a leading independence figure who ruled from 1977 to 1981 before he was assassinated.
BNP’s win with more than 200 seats is one of its biggest, surpassing its 2001 victory with 193, although Hasina’s Awami League, which ruled for 15 years and was barred from contesting this time, secured a bigger tally of 230 in 2008.
But elections of other years were boycotted by one of the main parties or were contentious.
Overnight, throngs of supporters cheered and shouted slogans at the BNP headquarters in Dhaka as the scale of the party’s landslide became clear.
Turnout exceeded the 42 per cent of the last election in 2024, with media reporting that nearly 60 per cent of registered voters participated in the election on Thursday.
More than 2,000 candidates, many independents among them, were on the ballot, which featured a record number of at least 50 parties. Voting in one constituency was postponed after a candidate died.
Broadcaster Jamuna TV said more than 2 million voters chose “Yes”, while more than 850,000 said “No” in a referendum on constitutional reforms held alongside the election, but there was no official word on the outcome.
The changes include two-term limits for prime ministers and stronger judicial independence and women’s representation while providing for neutral interim governments during election periods, and setting up a second house of the 300-seat parliament.
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