The Bangladesh Election Commission declared on Friday that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won 209 seats, while its main competitor, a Jamaat-e-Islami party-led bloc, secured 77 seats in the 300-seat parliament.
Bangladesh held general elections on Thursday, the first since the 2024 popular uprising that ousted the government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Reactions have poured in from several countries, including Dhaka’s neighbours, who congratulated Tarique Rahman, the BNP leader, and hailed the elections as a triumph of democracy.
China
China extended support to Dhaka and hailed the “steady and smooth” elections held a day earlier; Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing supports Dhaka “in advancing its domestic political agenda.”
China stands ready to “work with Bangladesh to take the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership forward,” Lin told reporters in Beijing.
Pakistan
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Rahman on his “resounding victory” and the people of Bangladesh on the successful conduct of the elections.
“I look forward to working closely with the new Bangladesh leadership to further strengthen our historic, brotherly, multifaceted bilateral relations and advance our shared goals of peace, stability and development in South Asia and beyond,” Sharif said.
Pakistan and Bangladesh have seen ties warming in recent months.
India
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said New Delhi will continue to support a “democratic, progressive and inclusive” Bangladesh in a post on X.
Modi also held a phone call with Rahman after the declaration of victory.
“I conveyed my best wishes and support in his endeavour to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh,” Modi said.
“As two close neighbours with deep-rooted historical and cultural ties, I reaffirmed India’s continued commitment to the peace, progress and prosperity of both our peoples.”
However, on Thursday, New Delhi declined Dhaka's invitation to send election observers, even as approximately 400 international observers and 200 foreign journalists monitored the polls.
"We did receive an invitation to send observers. We have not sent our observers to Bangladesh to observe the elections," Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a briefing in New Delhi.
Ties between the neighbours have soured ever since Hasina fled to India in August 2024.
Dhaka has demanded that New Delhi hand over the former prime minister, who was sentenced to death in absentia by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal in November 2025 for her role in the 2024 crackdown.
Maldives
Extending warm regards to the BNP, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu expressed readiness to “work closely together to further advance and deepen the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the Maldives and Bangladesh.”
Malaysia
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called the BNP victory “a triumph of democracy”, offering congratulations to Rahman and the party on their “emphatic election victory”.
US
The United States congratulated the party led by Rahman on its "historic victory" in elections, its embassy in Dhaka said.
"Congratulations to the people of Bangladesh on a successful election and to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Tarique Rahman on your historic victory," the statement read.
"The United States looks forward to working with you to realise shared goals of prosperity and security."
