Bangladesh Nationalist Party Claims Landslide Victory After Mass Protests

Sat Feb 14 2026 01:18:21 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a historic shift, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party emerges with a significant majority in the first election following the youth-driven protests that led to the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has achieved a remarkable victory in the country's 13th general election, securing more than two-thirds of parliamentary seats amid calls for democratic reforms. The party's leader, Tarique Rahman, faces the daunting task of restoring democracy and reviving an economy reeling from years of authoritarian governance.

The centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has secured a landslide majority in parliament, 18 months after mass protests ousted the country's longest-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The party took more than two-thirds of seats in the historic general election, with Jamaat, the country's main Islamist party, coming second. Hasina's Awami League was banned from taking part.

BNP leader Tarique Rahman is set to be the next prime minister and faces huge challenges in getting the economy back on its feet and restoring democracy after 15 years of authoritarian rule under Hasina.

Voters also backed sweeping democratic reforms in a referendum held alongside the election.

I am grateful for the love you have shown me, Tarique Rahman told well-wishers in Dhaka as he attended Friday prayers. His party has said there would be no victory procession.

He was elected to parliament for the first time as one of 212 successful BNP candidates. The Election Commission put voter turnout at 59.44%.

It is a huge change of fortunes for a man who spent 17 years in self-imposed exile in London. He took over as head of his party after his mother, former PM Khaleda Zia, died in December.

During his campaign, Tarique Rahman promised that democracy would be restored.

Reviving the country's economy, bringing rising food prices under control, and creating jobs for Bangladesh's huge young population are the big challenges facing the new government.

Repairing strained ties with giant neighbor India is also high on the list of priorities.

Within hours of his win, Rahman had received a call from India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi who congratulated him on a remarkable victory. As two close neighbors with deep-rooted historical and cultural ties, I reaffirmed India's continued commitment to the peace, progress, and prosperity of both our peoples, Modi wrote on X.

Although the BNP is promising to lead change in the country, the party was criticized for corruption and accused of human rights violations when it was last in government in the early 2000s.

Thursday's democratic exercise is a moment of huge potential—and risk—for the country, with one of its two main parties winning such a big victory.

Among the constitutional reforms envisaged are prime ministerial term limits, a directly elected upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers, and increased judicial independence.

Greater representation of women in parliament is also in the charter—and judging by the tiny number of successful female candidates in the election, there is a long way to go.

Tarique Rahman will be under great scrutiny to deliver to a very youthful electorate hungry for change, many of whom took part in the student-led protests that resulted in Hasina's downfall, paving the way for the 12 February election.