Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a landslide victory in the elections on Thursday, the first since a deadly 2024 uprising ousted the iron-fisted rule of Sheikh Hasina.

The BNP alliance won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, according to the Electoral Commission.

“Our paths and opinions may differ, but in the interest of the country, we must remain united,” Rahman said in his first speech since the election.

“I firmly believe that national unity is a collective strength, while division is a weakness.”

Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, had initially alleged “inconsistencies and fabrications” in the vote, but earlier on Saturday he conceded, and said he would “serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition”.

Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from taking part.

The success of BNP chief Rahman, 60, marks a remarkable turnaround for a man who only returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile in Britain, far from Dhaka’s political storms.

His father, president Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in 1981, while his mother, Khaleda Zia, served three terms as prime minister and dominated national politics for decades.

“Freedom loving pro-democracy people of the country have once again brought victory to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party,” he added, in an initial speech in English, before switching to Bangla.

“This victory belongs to Bangladesh, belongs to democracy, this victory belongs to people who aspired to and have sacrificed for democracy,” he said.

He said the new government he will lead faces daunting challenges.

“We have paved the way for the establishment of democracy in the country,” he added.

“We are about to begin our journey in a situation marked by a fragile economy left behind by an authoritarian regime, weakening constitutional and structural institutions and destroying law and order.”