Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has claimed victory in the country’s first parliamentary election since the 2024 uprising, saying it has secured enough seats to form the next government. The final results are yet to be announced by the Election Commission.
Jamaat-e-Islami was one of the BNP’s main challengers in the election. The Islamist party questioned the credibility of the vote on Friday, alleging “repeated inconsistencies and fabrications” in the unofficial results.
The path to the election was unusual, even if the outcome was widely anticipated. It followed a student-led uprising in July 2024 that led to the removal of then-prime minister
Sheikh Hasina.
The protests, driven by frustration over economic stagnation and corruption, escalated after Hasina ordered a crackdown on demonstrators. More than 1,400 people were killed, and Hasina later fled to India.
At 60, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman is preparing to assume leadership of the South Asian nation of 170 million.
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Speaking two days before the vote, Rahman said he aimed to build on his parents’ legacy.
“They are them, I am me,” he said from his office, as cited by AFP. “I will try to do better than them.”
Who is Tarique Rahman?
Born when Bangladesh was still East Pakistan, Tarique Rahman was briefly detained as a child during the 1971 independence war. Widely known as Tarique Zia, he has carried a political surname that has shaped his public and private life.
His party describes him as “one of the youngest prisoners of war.”
His father, Ziaur Rahman, an army commander, rose to prominence following a 1975 coup in which the founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of Sheikh Hasina, was killed.
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The events entrenched a rivalry between the two families that would shape Bangladesh’s politics for decades. Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in 1981.
Rahman later grew up within his mother’s political circle as Khaleda Zia became the country’s first female prime minister, alternating in power with Hasina in a prolonged and adversarial political contest. "In her seats, I used to go and I used to campaign," Rahman was quoted as saying by AFP. "So this is how slowly and gradually I started getting involved in the politics."
His political career has also been marked by allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
Rahman was arrested on corruption charges in 2007 and has said he was tortured in custody.
He left Bangladesh the following year for London, where he later faced multiple cases in absentia. He denied the allegations and described them as politically motivated.
Married to a cardiologist and father of a daughter who is a lawyer, he has led a low-profile life in Britain.
That changed with his high-profile return in December after his mother's death. He had received a large public welcome.
He said the task ahead was “immense”, describing the country as having been “destroyed” by the former regime.
"If there are any mistakes which were unwanted, we are sorry for that," Rahman said.
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