DHAKA (Feb 13): Bangladesh’s opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a landslide parliamentary election on Friday, returning to power after nearly two decades and positioning party leader Tarique Rahman to become prime minister as the country emerges from months of unrest and economic disruption. The opposition Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies won 70 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad, or House of the Nation. The Election Commission put the BNP at 181 seats, the Jamaat-e-Islami at 61 and others at 7, with full official results expected in the next few hours. The BNP thanked its supporters soon after election trends became clear and called for special prayers on Friday for the nation and its people. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the US ambassador to Bangladesh, Brent T Christensen, were among the first to congratulate Rahman on his party's victory.

Source: The Edge Markets February 13, 2026 04:48 UTC