Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins big in election

Bangladesh Nationalist Party has secured more than a two-thirds majority in Thursday's national parliamentary election by winning 209 of the 299 seats, according to election officials.

The party's chairman, Tarique Rahman, 60, is widely expected to become the country's next prime minister, local media reported. He is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December, and former president Ziaur Rahman, who founded the BNP.

Akhtar Ahmed, senior secretary of the Election Commission, told journalists in a briefing on Friday that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami came second with 68 seats, while independent candidates and other small parties, allies of both BNP and Jamaat, secured 20 seats.

The election marks Bangladesh's first general election since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country in August 2024 amid nationwide political chaos. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has led an interim government since then.

Bangladesh's Election Commission oversaw one of the world's largest electoral exercises, tasked with managing a voter population of approximately 170 million.

Results for two of the 300 constituencies have been postponed, and polling in one constituency was delayed following the death of an independent candidate.

Ahmed of the Election Commission said voter turnout was 59.44 percent of the total eligible voters. He stated that the commission would issue a gazette notification on the election results soon.

In Bangladesh, a party or coalition can form the government if it receives at least a majority of the seats.

In a statement, BNP Senior Joint Secretary-General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi extended greetings and congratulations to the people of the country, hailing the party's victory in the election.

However, the party said early on Friday: "Despite winning … by a large margin of votes, no celebratory procession or rally shall be organized".

On Friday, the Chinese embassy in Bangladesh said in a message posted on Facebook, "Congratulations to the people of Bangladesh on the smooth and successful 13th National Parliamentary Election and to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party for taking the lead in the election."

It added, "We look forward to working together with the new government of Bangladesh and writing new chapters of China-Bangladesh relations."

The Bangladeshi parliament comprises a total of 350 members, of which 50 seats are reserved for women who are elected later by the 300 directly-elected members on the basis of proportional representation in the parliament through a single transferable vote.

According to local media, Asif Nazrul, adviser for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, said power will be transferred before Ramadan, which begins on or around Feb 19.

Xinhua and NK Sanchaya, a freelancer in Dhaka for China Daily, contributed to the story.

vivienxu@chinadailyapac.com