The center-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured a landslide majority in parliament, 18 months after mass protests ousted the country's longest-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, the BBC reported.

The party took more than two-thirds of seats in the historic general election, with Jamaat, the country's main Islamist party, coming second. Hasina's Awami League was banned from taking part.

BNP leader Tarique Rahman is set to be the next prime minister and faces huge challenges in getting the economy back on its feet and restoring democracy after 15 years of authoritarian rule under Hasina.

Voters also backed sweeping democratic reforms in a referendum held alongside the election.

"I am grateful for the love you have shown me," Tarique Raman told well-wishers in Dhaka as he attended Friday prayers. His party has said there would be no victory procession.

He was elected to parliament for the first time as one of 212 successful BNP candidates. The Election Commission put voter turnout at 59.44%.

It is a huge change of fortunes for a man who spent 17 years in self-imposed exile in London. He took over as head of his party after his mother, former PM Khaleda Zia, died in December.