Bangladesh Nationalist Party Claims Win in First Post‑Uprising Election

Bangladesh’s opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, says it has secured a parliamentary majority in the Feb. 12, 2026 national election, the country’s first vote since a 2024 student‑led uprising toppled longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Final official results have not yet been released, but the BNP is already positioning itself to form a government in a nation of about 180 million people that is the world’s second‑largest garment exporter after China and a key supplier to major U.S. and European brands. Rahman, the son of late president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, returned from 17 years of self‑imposed exile less than two months ago after corruption and money‑laundering convictions against him were overturned by an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. He defeated an alliance led by Islamist party Jamaat‑e‑Islami and the National Citizen Party, founded by students who spearheaded the 2024 protests in which up to 1,400 people died, and now faces daunting tasks of taming high inflation, unemployment and climate‑driven vulnerability while balancing ties with both the United States and China. A retired U.S. diplomat told NPR the uprising that ousted Hasina is likely to serve as a warning to Rahman about popular expectations for change and accountability, even as foreign observers and investors watch closely for any disruption to Bangladesh’s export‑driven economy and political stability.