Bangladesh’s BNP poised for’sweeping’ election victory.

DHAKA (AFP) – The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, is expected to sweep the first polls since a violent 2024 revolt, Bangladeshi TV stations said Friday.

In a party statement, senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi declared a “sweeping victory” but did not provide specific statistics. He encouraged members to pray in thanksgiving on Friday instead of celebrating on the streets.Despite the BNP’s overwhelming victory, no triumph rally will be held, according to the statement. “We will hold special prayers at mosques after Jumma (Friday) prayers across the country.”

At 5:30 a.m. (2330 GMT Thursday), broadcasters predicted that the BNP had surpassed the 150-seat barrier and secured a comfortable majority in parliament.

According to Jamuna and Somoy television outlets, the BNP secured 197 seats.

The Islamist-dominated alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami gained 63 seats, according to the polls, a significant increase over previous results but well short of the absolute victory it had hoped for.

The results are not official, and counting continues for the 299 out of 300 constituencies in which voting took place.

A additional 50 seats in parliament designated for women will be filled from party lists.

Rahman, 60, the BNP’s candidate for prime minister, was optimistic in the run-up to the election.

He told AFP two days before polling he was “confident” that his party — crushed during the 15 years of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic rule — would regain power in the South Asian nation of 170 million people.