For much of the past decade and a half, Bangladesh has been described abroad as a paradox. This week’s parliamentary election — the 13th since independence— was therefore more than a routine transfer of power. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) reclaimed power with a commanding majority, securing more than two-thirds of the 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament). Nor was it a national wave in which voters across class, gender and geography rally behind a single banner out of spite and ideological shift. The National Citizen Party (NCP), born from the 2024 uprising, secured six seats — in alliance with Jamaat.

Source: The Telegraph February 14, 2026 01:32 UTC