Finance
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its alliance claimed a resounding victory in the 13th parliamentary elections on Friday, according to local media, citing unconfirmed results.
The announced results showed that the BNP-led alliance won 210 seats, paving the way for the formation of a new BNP-led administration.
According to party insiders, Bangladeshi Bengali Daily and Jugantor stated that party chairman Tarique Rahman is expected to lead the government, marking Bangladesh’s first male Prime Minister in over 35 years.
Following the vote count on Thursday night, the unofficial results from several constituencies were announced.
According to unofficial results from the Dhaka-17 constituency, Tarique secured 72,699 votes, defeating his closest rival, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate S.M. Khaliduzzaman, who received 68,300 votes, Bangladeshi Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported.
Dhaka Divisional Commissioner (Returning Officer) Sharaf Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury announced the results on Friday morning. He added that voting took held in 125 centers, including mail voting, in the Dhaka-17 constituency. Tarique won the seat by 4,399 votes.
Furthermore, BNP Chairman Tarique was unofficially elected from the Bogra-6 constituency, getting 216,284 votes from 150 centers. His nearest contender, Jamaat candidate Abidur Rahman Sohel, received 97,626 votes using the party’s scale symbol.
Tarique expressed happiness after voting in the national election earlier on Thursday, saying he is still convinced that his party will win, according to local media.
He exercised his franchise at the Gulshan Model High School and College Centre in Dhaka. Speaking to reporters after voting, he said that the people of Bangladesh had been waiting for this moment for over a decade, reported leading Bangladeshi news outlet UNB.
When asked about his expectations regarding the election results, the BNP chief maintained strong confidence in his party’s prospects. He stated that he and his party are “100 per cent hopeful” of winning the election.
Tarique is the son of former Bangladeshi President Gen. Ziaur Rahman, who ascended to power through a series of coups and counter-coups and later created the Bangladesh Nationalist Party before becoming president in 1977.
He is also the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who led Bangladesh for two terms, from 1991 to 1996 and 2001 to 2006.
Following Khaleda Zia’s death in December of last year, Tarique seized leadership of the BNP and is now poised to run the country.
Source: IANS
