Opposition Rahman sweeps the Bangladesh elections and ends 15 years of Hasina’s authoritarian rule

This preliminary count gives the party led by the exiled Rahman a absolute majority of more than two thirds from the chamber and seals the era of the overthrown Sheikh Hasinarecently sentenced to death, and her Awami League, which was prohibited from running in the elections. The parliamentary arc is made up entirely of former opposition formations.

Rahman, son of Ziaur Rahman, independence hero and former president assassinated in a military coup in 1981, and the former prime minister Khaleda Ziafaces the challenge of restore political stabilitystrengthen democracy, reduce corruption or regain confidence in the financial system.

The country, with 175 million inhabitants, has suffered a real earthquake since the student demonstrations of 2024 that, with the support of the Armed Forces, put end to the fifteen years of authoritarian government of the prime minister Sheikh Hasinaone of the two daughters of the founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The new Bangladeshi prime minister has managed to maintain joined the main opposition party since a 17-year exile more than 8,000 kilometers away. After being arrested in 2007 on corruption charges that he denounced as political persecution and suffering health problems in prison, he went into exile in London in 2008.

In his youth, his detractors called him a “crown prince,” and he was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for a grenade attack in 2004 against a Hasina rally. Rahman returned to Bangladesh last December.

Islamism grows

Bangladesh also voted this Thursday in a referendum on the package of constitutional reforms to avoid future authoritarian drifts promoted by the Nobel interim government. Muhammad Yunusobtaining the ‘yes’ 60% support.

The data shared by the Electoral Commission also shows a notable rise in Islamist forces, such as the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party, which ranks as the second political force in the country with 68 seats, a figure that gives it decisive weight in the new Legislature and despite having denounced “continuous inconsistencies” during election day.

For its part, the National Citizen Party (NCP), linked to the youth movements of the 2024 revolution, enters Parliament with six seats. The rest of the chamber is divided between small religious-based parties and seven independent candidates.

Although the figures are public, the final official announcement could be delayed until this Saturday to comply with the legal procedure of publishing the official bulletin. However, the BNP has already announced its intention to form a government this Sunday, once the Electoral Commission certifies the results of the 297 constituencies counted so far.