BNP sweeps Bangladesh's first post-Hasina vote; Tarique Rahman to be PM
Yunus's interim government hands over after a February landslide; Jamaat-e-Islami a distant second, the student NCP nearly shut out
Summary
Bangladesh's Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, won a landslide in the 12 February 2026 Jatiya Sangsad election — the first since the July 2024 uprising ended Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule (Quem decide). The BNP took 209 of 300 directly elected seats on roughly 50% of the vote and about 37.5 million ballots; Jamaat-e-Islami finished second; the student-led National Citizen Party won just six of 30 seats it contested. Turnout was 59.44%. The vote was run by Muhammad Yunus's interim government, in office since August 2024; Yunus congratulated Rahman and prepared to hand over. Rahman — long in exile — appealed for unity. Jamaat accepted the outcome despite vote-count complaints. The transition resets ties with India, which had backed Hasina.
By the numbers
- 209 of 300 — BNP's directly elected seats, a two-thirds-scale landslide.
- ~50% — BNP popular vote share; ~37.5 million ballots.
- 59.44% — turnout.
- 6 of 30 — seats won by the student-led National Citizen Party.
- Aug 2024 — start of Yunus's interim government, now handing over.
Why it matters
The first elected government since Hasina's fall determines whether Bangladesh consolidates a pluralist transition or recreates winner-take-all rule under a BNP supermajority. It reshapes Dhaka's relations with India, China and the West, and the fate of the youth movement that drove the uprising.
What to watch
- The formal handover from Yunus and Rahman's cabinet formation.
- Whether a BNP supermajority governs inclusively or sidelines Jamaat and the NCP.
- Dhaka–Delhi relations and the legal pursuit of Hasina-era figures.