DHAKA: Bangladesh’s largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, said Saturday it had accepted the “overall outcome” of the election won by the rival nationalist party, despite having alleged problems with the vote count.
“We recognise the overall outcome, and we respect the rule of law,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in a statement.
The announcement followed the victory of the rival nationalist party, widely reported to have secured a decisive mandate in the first general election held since the 2024 uprising that reshaped Bangladesh’s political landscape.
Jamaat leaders had earlier alleged discrepancies in vote tabulation in several constituencies, claiming that their candidates faced procedural obstacles during the counting process.
However, the party stopped short of rejecting the results outright and instead urged authorities to ensure transparency and accountability in future elections.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has been officially declared the winner of the country’s general elections, marking the first national vote since the 2024 uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Akhtar Ahmed, senior secretary of the Bangladesh Election Commission, told reporters in Dhaka on Friday that the BNP secured 209 seats, surpassing the two-thirds majority threshold in the 300-seat parliament, while the party and its allies won a combined total of 212 seats.
Ahmed said Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats and, together with its 10 allies, will hold 77 seats in the new parliament. The BNP and its allies secured a combined total of 212 seats.
The BNP said it would form a new government by Sunday, after winning elections.
“The government will be formed by Feb. 15. The BNP will go to parliament with all parties,” the party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters on Friday while visiting his constituency in the north-western Thakurgaon district.
Political observers say Jamaat’s acceptance of the results could help ease post-election tensions in a country that has witnessed repeated political unrest in recent years.
The latest polls were conducted under heightened security, with hundreds of thousands of law enforcement personnel deployed nationwide amid warnings of potential violence and disinformation.
The election marked a significant transition for the South Asian nation of around 170 million people, coming after months of political uncertainty.
According to the Election Commission, voter turnout stood at 59.44 percent, significantly higher than the 41.8 percent recorded in the January 2024 elections, which were boycotted by the BNP-Jamaat opposition.
More than 127.6 million people were eligible to vote in Thursday’s election.
