The Bangladesh Nationalist Party won the first election since a 2024 youth-led uprising ended 15 years of increasingly authoritarian rule, local television networks reported, clearing the way for its once-exiled leader to take power.
Broadcasters said the BNP crossed the threshold for a majority in the 300-seat parliament in Thursday’s election, with multiple TV channels reporting the party captured more than two-thirds of seats. This would set up Tarique Rahman — who ended a 17-year exile in London and returned to Bangladesh in December — to try and rebuild the developing nation’s garment-reliant economy.