DHAKA - The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday claimed a thumping win in the first elections held since a deadly 2024 uprising, with leader Tarique Rahman poised to become prime minister.
Final results are still to come, but the United States was swift to offer its congratulations to Rahman and the BNP for an "historic victory", its embassy in Dhaka said.
Rahman had 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.
"This victory was expected. It is not surprising that the people of Bangladesh have placed their trust in a party... capable of realising the dreams that our youth envisioned during the uprising," Salahuddin Ahmed, a leading BNP committee member, told AFP Friday.
"This is not a time for celebration, as we will face mounting challenges in building a country free from discrimination."
At 8:00 am (0200 GMT), broadcasters projected that the BNP had pushed well past the 150-seat threshold to secure a clear majority in parliament -- predicting they would win more than two-thirds of seats.
The Jamuna television channel reported that the BNP had secured 212 seats.
The Islamist-led coalition headed by Jamaat-e-Islami had won 70 seats, the station projected, a huge leap from its past results but far short of the outright win it had campaigned for. Somoy TV broadcast similar figures.
Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, who mounted a disciplined grassroots campaign on a platform of justice and ending corruption, has not commented on the predicted results.
The Election Commission has not released final results, suggesting it will have those ready by late Friday morning, for a total of the 299 constituencies of 300 in which voting took place.
A further 50 seats in parliament reserved for women will be named from party lists.