Bangladesh’s Tarique Rahman pledges democracy, law and order after election win

Bangladesh’s Tarique Rahman pledges democracy as parliament transition nears

Bangladesh’s incoming leader Tarique Rahman said Saturday that he would work to build a more democratic country after his Bangladesh Nationalist Party secured a majority in parliamentary elections, describing a difficult starting point for the new government. Speaking during his first press meeting in Dhaka, Rahman said his priorities would include improving law and order and addressing a fragile economy.

Rahman’s remarks came after his party won a majority in Thursday’s election for the country’s 350-member Parliament. He said the vote marked a significant political shift for Bangladesh, which has a population of more than 170 million people.

Rahman said the election was the first since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a mass uprising in 2024. An interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus oversaw the largely peaceful election, according to the report.

In Rahman’s account, Bangladesh begins the next stage with weak governance structures and worsening public security. He said the country is “about to begin our journey in a situation marked by a fragile economy left behind by the authoritarian regime, weakened constitutional and statutory institutions, and a deteriorating law and order situation,” adding that he would seek to address those challenges.

At the same press meeting, Rahman urged unity and said he would not undermine the country. He said, “To ensure that no evil force can reestablish autocracy in the country, and to ensure that the nation is not turned into a subservient state, we must remain united and uphold the will of the people,” according to the report.

Rahman is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December, and his election win places him at the head of a new government expected to take the oath in the coming days. The BNP is one of the country’s longstanding political forces alongside Hasina’s now-banned Awami League party.

The report said Hasina’s government has been accused of increasingly becoming authoritarian during her 15-year rule. It also noted that in recent years the BNP refused to take part in the election during Hasina’s rule; Hasina has been in exile in India since her ouster and has been convicted of crimes against humanity tied to hundreds of deaths during the weekslong uprising.

With the election results defining the next parliament’s balance, the report said an 11-member alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami—described as the country’s largest Islamist party—is poised to form the opposition.