In comparison to the 1991 elections, both the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have made substantial gains in terms of both vote share and seats, with each party seeing an increase of nearly 20 percentage points.
During the recent February 12 election, the BNP garnered 49.97 percent of the vote and secured 209 seats, a significant rise from the 30.81 percent vote share and 140 seats it obtained in 1991. Similarly, Jamaat-e-Islami showed notable progress by winning 31.76 percent of the vote and securing 68 seats in this election, a significant improvement from the 12.13 percent vote share and 18 seats it achieved in 1991, as per Election Commission data.
The National Citizen Party, led by student and youth leaders of the July uprising, emerged as the third-largest party in terms of vote share, securing 3.05 percent of the vote by fielding candidates in 32 constituencies. Contesting as part of the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance, NCP’s performance was notable.
Islami Andolon Bangladesh, under the leadership of Charmonai Pir Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim, competed in 257 constituencies and secured 2.70 percent of the vote. Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, another member of the 11-party alliance, obtained 2.09 percent of the vote by fielding candidates in 34 constituencies.
Jatiya Party, which had representation in the past three parliaments, nominated candidates in 199 constituencies but failed to secure any seats in this election, receiving only 0.89 percent of the votes.
A total of 50 political parties participated in the polls, with 44 of them receiving less than one percent of the votes. Additionally, 275 independent candidates collectively garnered 5.79 percent of the votes.
While the Election Commission did not provide the exact popular vote count, it is estimated that BNP and its allies secured approximately 3.73 crore votes, while Jamaat-e-Islami and its alliance partners received around 2.73 crore votes. The turnout for the February 12 polls was reported to be 59.44 percent out of 12.77 crore eligible voters.
Looking back at previous elections, in the 1991 polls, BNP secured 1,05,07,549 votes (30.81 percent) and won 140 seats, forming the government with Jamaat’s unconditional support. Jamaat secured 41,36,661 votes (12.13 percent) and achieved success in 18 seats.
Subsequent elections saw varying results for BNP and Jamaat, with different vote shares and seat allocations over the years, reflecting the evolving political landscape and voter preferences.
