Bangladesh Nationalist Party claims victory in country’s first election since 2024 uprising

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DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has claimed triumph successful the country’s archetypal predetermination since the 2024 uprising, positioning itself to signifier the adjacent authorities and perchance reshape Bangladesh’s governmental scenery aft years of aggravated rivalry and disputed polls.

The party’s media portion successful a station connected X Friday said it had secured capable seats successful Parliament to govern connected its own. Final results person not yet been announced by the Election Commission, though respective section media outlets reported the party’s win.

BNP is headed by Tarique Rahman, its premier ministerial candidate. Rahman, 60, returned to Bangladesh successful December aft 17 years successful self-exile successful London. He is the lad of erstwhile Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who died successful December.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, elder associated secretary-general of the BNP, extended congratulations to the radical of Bangladesh connected the party’s electoral triumph successful a statement. Separately, Saleh Shibly, property caput to Rahman, said the BNP person called connected his supporters to clasp peculiar prayers alongside the play Friday work and not to clasp immoderate celebratory processions.

The U.S. Embassy successful Dhaka congratulated Rahman and his enactment connected the win, calling it a “historic victory.”

“The United States looks guardant to moving with you to execute shared goals of prosperity and information for some our countries,” U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T Christensen wrote connected X.

The contention was mostly a two-way contention betwixt the BNP and an 11-party confederation led by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, a blimpish spiritual enactment whose increasing power has fueled concern, peculiarly among women and number communities.

Shafiqur Rahman, who heads Jamaat-e-Islami, secured a spot successful Dhaka and is poised to go the absorption person successful Parliament. But his enactment voiced objections to the handling of the predetermination results.

The party's adjunct secretary-general, Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, said the Election Commission had delayed announcing results successful respective constituencies, calling the holdups “unusual.” In a connection posted connected Facebook, the enactment besides claimed that candidates from the confederation it heads were “narrowly and suspiciously losing” successful aggregate areas.

Thursdays’ ballot took spot amid choky information and concerns of antiauthoritarian backsliding, rising governmental unit and the fraying of the regularisation of law.

The predetermination was the archetypal since a bloody student-led revolt successful July 2024 led to the ouster of erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, sending her to exile successful India. Many viewed it arsenic a important trial of Bangladesh’s quality reconstruct spot successful ideology and to alteration nationalist protests into tangible governmental reform.

For overmuch of the past 15 years, the BNP languished successful opposition, boycotting respective elections and accusing Hasina’s authorities of systematic ballot rigging and governmental repression. Tarique Rahman himself spent 17 years successful self-imposed exile aft Hasina’s authorities pursued aggregate corruption and transgression cases against him. He has denied the charges, saying they were politically motivated.

Those cases were dropped aft Hasina’s authorities collapsed, paving the mode for his instrumentality to Bangladesh. His run has formed him arsenic a defender of ideology successful a state whose authorities person agelong been shaped by entrenched parties, subject interventions, and allegations of electoral manipulation.

Tarique Rahman’s BNP has for decades formed 1 fractional of the country’s entrenched dynastic governmental system. His father, Ziaur Rahman, roseate from the ranks of the service to go a ascendant governmental figure, serving arsenic the country’s sixth president until his assassination successful 1981.

The enactment was the main rival to Hasina’s Awami League party, present banned, and their long-running feud came to specify Bangladesh’s governmental life.

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