Bangladesh will be better': BNP victory puts nation at crossroads

"As rickshaw puller Anwar Pagla turned into the road leading to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) office in Gulshan, Dhaka, on the afternoon after the parliamentary election, a small commotion stirred. His rickshaw had a Bangladeshi flag fixed to one side of the hood and the BNP's flag to the other. Pagla is an ardent supporter. They call me mad because I consider this party everything in my life. But it doesn't matter. We have won and Bangladesh will now be better, he told Al Jazeera."

"Nearly two decades after it last governed, the BNP returned to power after a landslide victory in Thursday's parliamentary election. The Election Commission published the gazette of the members of parliament elected, a final official seal on the election process, on Saturday. The centre-right BNP's alliance secured 212 of the 300 seats. The alliance led by its main rival, the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh's largest religion-based party secured 77."

"The BNP's Tarique Rahman, set to become Bangladesh's next prime minister, greeted supporters on Friday, saying he was grateful for the love they had shown him. He promised throughout BNP's campaign to restore democracy in Bangladesh. Mahdi Amin, BNP's election steering committee spokesperson, said Rahman pledged that, as prime minister, he would safeguard the rights and freedoms of citizens. Thursday's vote passed largely peacefully, and, despite alleging inconsistencies and fabrications during the vote count, Jamaat accepted the outcome of the election on Saturday."

The centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its alliance won a decisive parliamentary majority, taking 212 of 300 seats while the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance secured 77 seats. Tarique Rahman is set to become prime minister and pledged to restore democracy and safeguard citizens' rights and freedoms. The Election Commission published the gazette of elected members, formalising the results. The vote passed largely peacefully, and Jamaat accepted the outcome despite alleging inconsistencies during the count. The election follows a period of national unrest that ousted the former leadership, resulted in about 1,400 deaths, and led to a caretaker government after Sheikh Hasina fled.

Read at www.aljazeera.com