Bangladesh Nationalist Occasion Chairperson Tarique Rahman waves as he comes out after casting his vote through the nationwide parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP
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Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP
DHAKA, Bangladesh — The Bangladeshi Nationalist Occasion (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, claimed victory Friday within the first elections held for the reason that earlier authorities was toppled in a student-led revolution in 2024.
Closing outcomes have but to be introduced, with the Election Fee anticipated to take action shortly, however the BNP says it has secured a majority.
Developments in Bangladesh are being intently watched past its borders. It’s the world’s eighth-most populous nation and second-largest garment exporter after China, supplying main manufacturers to Europe and the US – a place the BNP can be eager to guard.
Rahman, 60, hails from a political dynasty. Each of his mother and father had been central figures within the social gathering for many years. His father, navy officer and former president Ziaur Rahman, based the BNP in 1978.
His mom, Khaleda Zia – who died in December – had led the social gathering for greater than 30 years and served thrice as prime minister.
Rahman’s rise follows the rebellion in July and August 2024 that resulted in as much as 1,400 deaths, in line with the United Nations. The unrest ended with former prime minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina fleeing the nation.
Jon Danilowicz, an unbiased political analyst and retired U.S. diplomat who beforehand served in Bangladesh, instructed NPR he believes the rebellion could function a warning for Rahman.
He mentioned: “Tarique Rahman would not be in the position he is in had he not been Khaleda Zia and Ziaur Rahman’s son. But it seems he has understood what has changed in the country. He has acknowledged the July revolution and the sacrifices of those who were on the front line.”
Rahman confronted a tricky problem from Bangladesh’s third-largest social gathering, Jamaat-e-Islami, which contested the election as a part of an 11-party alliance that included the Nationwide Citizen Occasion (NCP), shaped by college students who led the rebellion.
He now faces the daunting job of steering the South Asian nation of round 180 million individuals via excessive inflation, rising unemployment and the rising impacts of local weather change.
Safety personnel guard close to the chairman workplace of the Bangladesh Nationalist Occasion (BNP) earlier than the nationwide parliamentary election result’s introduced in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.
Anupam Nath/AP
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Anupam Nath/AP
Will probably be an particularly difficult job for somebody who has by no means held public workplace in Bangladesh and returned to the nation lower than two months in the past after 17 years of self-imposed exile in London.
Whereas overseas, Rahman was convicted in Bangladesh of a number of offences whereas the Awami League was in energy, together with corruption and cash laundering – convictions he and his social gathering rejected as politically motivated.
The rulings had been overturned between 2024 and 2025 throughout an interim interval led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, paving the best way for his return.
Challenges forward
As prime minister, his quick problem can be to kind a authorities able to tackling financial pressures, creating jobs and restoring regulation and order.
“There have been a lot of promises made in terms of social welfare programs and family cards, which give women with families a monthly stipend,” Danilowicz mentioned. “But there’s a fiscal reality the government will face. Bangladesh has one of the lowest taxation rates, and there are limits to how much revenue it can generate.”
On international coverage, the BNP authorities is anticipated to consolidate its relations with each the US and China. The BNP has already mentioned it plans to deepen relations with China, Bangladesh’s largest buying and selling accomplice. Relations with neighboring India, nevertheless, might show extra sophisticated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities loved shut ties with the Awami League whereas it was in energy and has been sheltering Sheikh Hasina since she fled. New Delhi has to this point not responded to requests from Bangladesh to extradite her after a Bangladeshi courtroom sentenced Hasina to loss of life in November final 12 months for crimes towards humanity linked to the rebellion – a verdict she refutes.
Danilowicz mentioned: “Bangladesh’s population has turned against India over the past 18 months. The challenge for Rahman will be how far the BNP can go towards restoring relations with India without facing a public backlash.”
Rahman and his social gathering should additionally cope with a bundle of reform proposals designed to forestall a return to authoritarian rule. Generally known as the July Nationwide Constitution, the plan outlines constitutional, institutional and electoral modifications.
It was signed in October final 12 months by leaders of main political events and authorised by voters in a referendum held the identical day because the parliamentary elections.
Danilowicz mentioned: “Certainly, the reforms can make a difference, making it harder for an executive to act in a way that is unchecked by any other institution. That was a fundamental issue that needed to be addressed.”
With a fairly sturdy opposition in parliament within the type of a Jamaat-e-Islami alliance, the BNP authorities is prone to face nearer scrutiny than its predecessor.
