New government by Feb 15: Referendum turnout at 60.26pc; BNP wins 209 seats, Jamaat 68, NCP 6
Staff Reporter :
The referendum held alongside Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary election recorded a turnout of 60.26 percent, as the Election Commission announced the unofficial final results for 297 constituencies.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Commission’s headquarters in Agargaon on Friday afternoon, Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured 209 seats, emerging as the single largest party in the new Jatiya Sangsad.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats, while the National Congress Party (NCP) secured six and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis won two seats. These three parties are members of the 11-party alliance.
Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Jatiya Party, Ganosamhati Andolan and Khelafat Majlis won one seat each. Independent candidates were elected in seven constituencies.
However, the Commission said the results of two constituencies in Chattogram would not be gazetted until pending appeals in loan default cases are disposed of by the High Court Division.
In Chattogram-2 (Fatikchhari) and Chattogram-4 (Sitakunda), BNP candidates Sarwar Alamgir and Aslam Chowdhury were declared unofficially victorious, but the formal publication of results will remain on hold pending legal resolution.
On the referendum, the EC Secretary said 48,074,429 votes were cast in favour of “Yes,” while 22,565,627 voters chose “No.”
The referendum figures from the two Chattogram constituencies have been included in the overall count.
Reacting to the results, Nazrul Islam Khan, a standing committee member of the BNP and chairman of its election management committee, said at a press conference that the people had entrusted the responsibility of governing the country for the next five years to the BNP and its leader Tarique Rahman.
He claimed the party had won more than a two-thirds majority and noted that several alliance partners had also secured victories.
Asked whether he was fully satisfied with the conduct of the election, Khan said achieving “100 percent satisfaction” is difficult, but expressed overall contentment.
He pointed out that previous elections had seen significant loss of life, violence and damage to state property, whereas this time such large-scale incidents did not occur.
At the same time, he acknowledged that the culture of voter disengagement that developed over years could not be fully reversed, adding that the party would work to encourage greater voter participation in the future.
Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the party would form a new government by February 15. Speaking to journalists at his residence in Thakurgaon on Friday, he said the process of government formation would be completed within the stipulated timeframe.
He added that the BNP would not act alone in parliament but would work with other political parties to foster an inclusive political environment.
Fakhrul said the party would gradually implement the commitments it endorsed under the “July Charter,” along with its election manifesto and its declared 31-point programme.
Commenting on the broader political context, he said past authoritarian tendencies had fueled extremism and led to the repression of various political parties.
In that context, he suggested, some parties achieved electoral gains. He described the BNP’s sweeping victory as a reflection of public trust and support.
With the EC’s announcement of results in 297 seats, the stage is now set for the formation of a new government, while legal proceedings in two constituencies remain pending before the final gazette notification is issued.