Bangladesh's BNP seen heading for big election win as votes are counted

'We will do positive politics,' JI's Shafiqur Rahman says as BNP and its allies lead in 134 seats

DHAKA:

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said it was on its way to a landslide victory in a pivotal national election late on Thursday, as the head of its main rival appeared to indicate he would accept the result.

The parliamentary election was Bangladesh's first vote since the 2024 Gen Z-driven uprising that toppled long‑time premier Sheikh Hasina.

Analysts say a clear outcome is crucial for stability in the nation of 175 million after months of deadly anti‑Hasina unrest disrupted everyday life and hit major industries, including the garment sector, the world's second largest exporter.

It was also the first national election to follow the recent under-30, Gen Z‑led uprisings that have cropped up through the wider region, with Nepal set to hold a vote next month.

Read: Bangladesh votes in landmark election after Gen Z uprising

BNP expects landslide victory

The head of the BNP's rival Jamaat-e-Islami party said it would not engage in the "politics of opposition" for the sake of it.

"We will do positive politics," Shafiqur Rahman told reporters as the BNP and its allies were leading in 134 seats, inching closer to the halfway mark of 151 in the legislature of 300 members.

Jamaat was way behind at 28 seats, according to one local TV news channel. Jamaat said unofficial results showed the party had won 58 seats.

Counting began at 4:30pm (1030 GMT) at most booths, immediately after polls closed, with early trends expected around midnight and results likely to be clear by Friday morning, Election Commission officials said.

"Of course, BNP is winning, the majority of course, and it would even be a landslide victory," Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, a BNP standing committee member, said. "Winning two-thirds of the seats is called a landslide victory, I think we would cross the 200-seat limit."

The party also declared on its official Facebook page that its chief and prime ministerial candidate Tarique Rahman had won one of two seats he contested. Election authorities have yet to announce the result officially.

BNP members clapped and cheered loudly as they celebrated outside the party office in Dhaka on hearing the news of his victory, visuals on the Facebook page showed.

“With the people’s love, BNP will form the government with two-thirds majority. Based on constituency-wise results and unofficial data, we’re confident of our victory,” Tarique's adviser, Mahdi Amin, told reporters.

Turnout appeared on track to exceed the 42% recorded in the last election in 2024. Local media reported that more than 60% of registered voters were expected to have cast ballots.

Hasina calls vote a farce

Hasina's Awami League is banned, and she remains in self-imposed exile in long-term ally India, opening the window for China to expand its influence in Bangladesh as Dhaka's ties with New Delhi fray.

Elections under Hasina were frequently marred by boycotts and intimidation, critics say.

In a statement sent to journalists on WhatsApp, Hasina denounced the election as a "carefully planned farce", held without her party and without real voter participation. She said Awami League supporters had rejected the process.

"We demand the cancellation of this voterless, illegal and unconstitutional election ... the removal of the suspension imposed on the activities of the Awami League, and the restoration of the people’s voting rights through the arrangement of a free, fair, and inclusive election under a neutral caretaker government," she said.

Alongside the election, a referendum was held on a set of constitutional reforms, including establishing a neutral interim government for election periods, restructuring parliament into a bicameral legislature, increasing women's representation, strengthening judicial independence and introducing a two-term limit for the prime minister.

More than 2,000 candidates, including many independents, were on the ballot, and at least 50 parties contested, a national record. Voting in one constituency was postponed after a candidate died.

Long lines of voters, heavy security

There were no reports of major violence during the vote.

Around 958,000 personnel from the police, army and paramilitary forces were deployed throughout the country, the Election Commission said. Police and army personnel were stationed outside most polling booths.

"I am feeling excited because we are voting in a free manner after 17 years," Mohammed Jobair Hossain, 39, said as he waited in line. "Our votes will matter and have meaning."

Kamal Chowdhury, 31, who works as a driver for a company in Dhaka and travelled to his hometown in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria to cast his vote, said: "It feels festive here."

President Asif Ali Zardari extended his best wishes to Bangladesh on the elections and expressed the hope that the electoral process would further strengthen democratic institutions and contribute to peace, stability and continued progress.

President Extends Best Wishes to Bangladesh on National Elections

President Asif Ali Zardari has conveyed his best wishes to the government and people of Bangladesh as over 127 million voters head to the polls today to elect representatives to 300 seats in the National… pic.twitter.com/ZeQT7pYCGl

— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) February 12, 2026

Voting in one constituency was postponed due to the death of a candidate. At least 50 parties are contesting in total, a national record.

There were no reports of major violence, but a BNP leader died in a scuffle outside a polling booth in the coastal town of Khulna, and two paramilitary personnel and a 13-year-old girl were injured when a home-made bomb exploded outside a polling booth in Hasina's stronghold of Gopalganj.

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Hossain's sentiment was echoed by many voters, who told Reuters that the atmosphere felt more free and festive than earlier elections.

Outside a polling booth in Dhaka, where the BNP chief and head of the interim government Muhammad Yunus voted, policemen were on horses with saddle blankets proclaiming: "Police are here, vote without fear".

"From today, we have the opportunity to build a new Bangladesh with every step we take. This is a festival, a day of joy, a day of liberation, the end of our nightmare. I congratulate you all," Yunus, who took over as interim head after Hasina, said after voting.

"The crucial test for Bangladesh now will be to ensure the election is conducted fairly and impartially, and for all parties to then accept the result," said Thomas Kean, a senior consultant with the International Crisis Group.

"If that happens, it will be the strongest evidence yet that Bangladesh has indeed embarked on a period of democratic renewal."