Where once a bifurcated system pitted the now outlawed Awami League of Hasina against the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in a predictable cycle of power, the country now confronts a transformed political ecosystem defined by three competing blocs.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party won a landmark parliamentary election on Friday, a local TV station showed.

Bangladeshis lined up outside polling booths on Thursday as voting began for what many say is a pivotal election for the South Asian nation.

Bangladesh’s leading prime ministerial contender, Tarique Rahman, on Friday rejected a proposal from his main rival for a unity government.

Khaleda Zia, who became Bangladesh's first female prime minister in 1991, died on Tuesday after a long illness. She was 80.

Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia remains in "very critical" condition at a Dhaka hospital, her party said on Sunday.