Dhaka, Feb 13: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday appeared headed for a decisive victory in the South Asian nation’s general elections as counting progressed for the polls to elect a government that would replace the interim administration, which took charge after the collapse of the Awami League regime in August 2024.
Multiple media tallies showed the BNP had won more than 151 seats in the 300-seat parliament.
The Election Commission (EC) is yet to make a formal announcement.
An EC spokesperson said the results in several seats were still being processed and were likely to be announced in a few hours.
The election was seen as a direct contest between the BNP and its former ally Jamaat-e-Islami, in the absence of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina’s now disbanded Awami League.
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government has been in place for 18 months.
The voting for the 13th parliamentary elections was held along with a referendum on the implementation of a complex 84-point reform package, known as the July National Charter.
The BNP had earlier announced that if it wins the election, then its chairman and former premier Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman would be the next prime minister of Bangladesh.
“We are confident of forming the government by winning more than two-thirds of seats,” BNP’s central election steering committee spokesman Mahdi Amin told a media briefing in the early hours of Friday.
Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh in December last year after over 17 years in self-exile, asked party leaders and activists to offer special prayers across the country after mid-day ‘Juma’ prayers instead of holding victory rallies.
The EC was yet to announce the voter turnout figure. It dismissed allegations of manipulation regarding voters’ appearances in polling centres.
“There were debates over turnout percentages in past elections as well. Please don’t question it now,” Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasur Uddin told a reporter on Thursday evening.
He said variations were natural as results from several thousand polling centres arrived at different times.
EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed earlier said 47.91 per cent voters had cast ballots by 2 pm on Thursday at 36,031 of the 42,651 polling centres.
More than 2,000 candidates, including a number of independents, were in the fray for 299 of the 300 parliamentary constituencies that went to polls. Polling for one seat was postponed due to the death of a candidate.
The counting of votes began soon after voting concluded at 4:30 pm (local time).
The Election Commission made elaborate security arrangements for the elections, deploying nearly 1 million security personnel — the largest-ever in the country’s electoral history.(PTI)
