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'Victory belongs to Bangladesh': Tarique Rahman calls for unity in first address after BNP's win
The BNP marked a big win in the 13th national elections and won 209 seats, comfortably placing it ahead of the majority mark required to form the government.
In his first remarks after big win in Bangladesh national elections, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday called for unity. Rahman, the PM-in-waiting, also dedicated the party's win to those who 'scarified for democracy'.
“This victory belongs to Bangladesh. This victory belongs to democracy. This victory belongs to the people who aspire to and have sacrificed for democracy. From today, we are all free, with the true essence of freedom and rights restored,” Rahman said in a press conference on Saturday.
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The BNP marked a landslide victory in the 13th national elections held on February 12 for which the results were declared on Friday. Rahman won from Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6 constituencies, while the party overall won 209 seats, comfortably placing it ahead of the majority mark required to form the government.
“With your spontaneous participation, after more than one and a half decades, a parliament and government accountable to the people through direct voting are being re-established in the country,” Rahman said, as he asked people to stand united “to ensure that no evil force can re-establish autocracy in the country, and that the nation is not turned into a subservient state."
The elections were crucial for Bangladesh as the polls were held for the first time since the ouster of former premier Sheikh Hasina in the student-led uprising of July 2024. Following the ouster, Hasina fled to India where she has been living in exile since then. Hasina' party, Awami League, was barred from taking part in the elections.
“I congratulate the people of Bangladesh. By overcoming all obstacles, you have paved the way for the establishment of democracy in the country,” Rahman said in the press conference.
Rahman returned home in Dhaka in December 2025 after almost 17 years of self-imposed exile in London. Days later, his ailing mother and former prime minister Khaleda Zia passed away.
Now, Rahman is set to become the prime minister of Bangladesh, a post that was once held by his mother. He will also be the first male prime minister of Bangladesh since 1991.
Bangladesh is also set to implement constitutional reforms proposed in the July National Charter as maximum votes polled in the National Referendum alongside general elections backed the reforms proposal.
