Once-Exiled Scion Set to Lead Bangladesh After BNP Win
An electoral official opens a ballot box as counting starts at a polling station during Bangladesh's general election in Dhaka on Feb. 12.
Photographer: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Bangladesh Nationalist Party secured a decisive victory in the country’s first election since a 2024 youth-led uprising ended 15 years of increasingly authoritarian rule, clearing the way for its once-exiled leader to take power.
The BNP crossed the threshold for a two-thirds majority in parliament in Thursday’s election, according to the Bangladesh Election Commission. This would set up Tarique Rahman — who ended a 17-year exile in London and returned to Bangladesh in December — to try and rebuild the developing nation’s garment-reliant economy.