Ex-premier Zia's BNP wins by-election in Bangladesh

Former PM Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a parliamentary by-poll in a southeastern constituency, two weeks after receiving a severe drubbing in the general elections.

Former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a parliamentary by-poll in a southeastern constituency, two weeks after receiving a severe drubbing in the general elections.

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The election in the Noakhali-1 constituency was won by BNP candidate Mahbubuddin Khokan, who defeated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League's candidate H M Ibrahim.

"Mahbubuddin Khokan has been elected lawmaker in Noakhali-1 constituency bagging 1,05,380 votes while his nearest rival and Awami League candidate H M Ibrahim got 80,658 votes in yesterday's by-election," an election commission spokesman said on Tuesday quoting the unofficial result.

Hasina's Awami League-led grand alliance won a landslide victory winning 362 seats while the BNP-led combine got only 32 in the 300-seat parliament in the last month's landmark polls.

Zia initially declined to concede defeat calling the polls "massively rigged" and "stage-managed" but gradually accepted the result as foreign and local poll observers certified it as free and fair.

The election to the Noakhali-1 constituency was postponed following the mysterious death of grand alliance candidate and left leaning Ganatantri Party chief Nurul Islam, ahead of the polls.