Bangladesh election results live: Tarique Rahman’s BNP declares victory

 

• Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) says it has won a majority in Thursday’s landmark election and will form the next government.
• India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif offer congratulations, describing Rahman’s victory as “decisive” and “resounding”, respectively.
• The Jamuna TV broadcaster, citing provisional results, says the BNP and its allies won 211 of the 299 constituency seats, while the rival Jamaat-e-Islami alliance won 70 seats.
• Official results have not yet been announced by the Bangladesh Election Commission.
• Jamaat-e-Islami, which is yet to concede defeat, says it is not “satisfied” with the vote count and is raising “serious questions about the integrity of the results process”.
• A referendum was also held on political reforms, including prime ministerial term limits, stronger checks on executive power and other safeguards preventing parliamentary power consolidation.

Photos: Dhaka, the morning after historic election

A banner with a photo of BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, is placed in a flower market, following the 13th general election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 13, 2026 [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/ Reuters]

A man read an English daily newspaper at a store [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/ Reuters]

Rickshaws ply on a street, the morning after the 13th general election, in Dhaka [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/ Reuters]

Police officers sit outside a BNP party office in Dhaka [Fatima Tuj Johora/ Reuters]

Pakistan president congratulates BNP on ‘landslide victory’

Asif Ali Zardari has shared a post congratulating Rahman “on BNP’s landslide victory”.

The Pakistani president also sent his congratulations to “the people of Bangladesh on their successful, peaceful polls”.

“Pakistan reaffirms strong support for democratic partnership and shared progress ahead,” Zardari said.

What is the July National Charter?

• The document was drafted by the National Consensus Commission last year, drawing on recommendations from six reform commissions focused on the constitution, judiciary, electoral system, police, public administration and anticorruption.
• It contains more than 80 proposals to overhaul Bangladesh’s system of governance.
• Key reforms include “increasing women’s political representation, imposing prime ministerial term limits, enhancing presidential powers, expanding fundamental rights, and protecting judicial independence”, according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).
• Notably, it recommends creating a 100-member upper chamber alongside Bangladesh’s current single parliamentary body, the 350-member Jatiya Sangsad.
• According to IDEA, if the “Yes” vote prevails, the newly elected parliament will have a public mandate to implement the charter’s provisions within 180 working days or 270 full days.

Jamaat raises questions over ‘integrity of the results process’

The religious conservative party says it is not “satisfied with the process surrounding the election results”.

“From candidates of the 11-party alliance narrowly and suspiciously losing in various constituencies, to repeated inconsistencies and fabrications in unofficial result announcements, the Election Commission’s reluctance to publish voter turnout percentages, and indications that a section of the administration leaned towards a major party – all of this undoubtedly raises serious questions about the integrity of the results process,” it said.

Jamaat called on its supporters to “remain patient and await the official programme of the 11-party alliance”.

Shafiqur Rahman, the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, attends a press conference following the 13th general election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 12, 2026 [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/ Reuters]