The centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has won an overwhelming victory in parliament, 18 months after widespread demonstrations deposed the country’s longest-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
The party won more than two-thirds of the seats in the historic general election, with Jamaat, the country’s biggest Islamist party, finishing second. Hasina’s Awami League was barred from taking part.
Tarique Rahman, the BNP leader, is expected to become the next prime minister, and he faces significant challenges in reviving the economy and restoring democracy after 15 years of autocratic rule under Hasina. In a referendum held concurrently with the election, voters overwhelmingly supported broad democratic reforms.
His party said that there would be no victory procession, and he encouraged supporters to attend prayers rather than public celebrations in memory of his late mother, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December. His formal election as the country’s next leader will take place following the swearing-in of new MPs, which is scheduled for Saturday.
Rahman’s family background, in which his late father was also a Bangladeshi leader, serves as a reminder that, while the BNP has promised change, Rahman, like Hasina, comes from a political dynasty.
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