2001 Bangladeshi general election

2001 Bangladeshi general election

← 1996 1 October 2001 2008 →
elected members →
All 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad 151 seats were needed for a majority
Registered	74,946,364
Turnout	74.97%
First party Second party   Leader Khaleda Zia Sheikh Hasina Party BNP Awami League Leader since 1984 1981 Leader's seat Bogra-6 Gopalganj-3 Last election 33.60%, 116 seats 37.40%, 151 seats Seats won 193 62 Seat change 77 84 Popular vote 23,074,714 22,310,276 Percentage 41.40% 40.02% Swing 6.80pp 2.62pp
Partywise Constituency Map 2001
Prime Minister before election Sheikh Hasina Awami League Subsequent Prime Minister Khaleda Zia BNP

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Member State of the SAARC
Constitution and law Constitution (Amendments) Law of Bangladesh Human rights Article 70 Judicial review Legitimate expectation
Government President: Abdul Hamid Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina Cabinet: Hasina IV Taxation Agencies Civil Service Local governments
Parliament Speaker: Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury Leader of the House: Sheikh Hasina Leader of the Opposition: Rowshan Ershad
Judiciary Supreme Court Appellate Division High Court Division Metropolitan courts Chief Justice: Syed Mahmud Hossain Attorney General: AM Amin Uddin
Subdivisions Divisions Districts Sub-districts Village Councils, Cities and Towns
Elections Parliamentary constituencies Election commission General elections: 2008 2014 2018 Presidential elections: 2009 2013 2018 Political parties
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Abulkalam Abdul Momen Diplomatic missions of / in Bangladesh Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy Foreign relations Bengali diaspora
Bangladesh portal Other countries
v t

General elections were held in Bangladesh on 1 October 2001. The 300 single-seat constituencies of the Jatiya Sangsad were contested by 1,935 candidates representing 54 parties and including 484 independents. The elections were the second to be held under the caretaker government concept, introduced in 1996.

The result was a win for the of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Jatiya Party (Manju) and Islami Oikya Jote. BNP leader Khaleda Zia became Prime Minister.

Background[]

The Seventh Parliament headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was dissolved on 13 July 2001,^[1] having completed its designated 5-year term (the first parliamentary administration to ever do so)^[2] and power was transferred to the caretaker government headed by Justice Latifur Rahman.

Electoral system[]

In 2001, the 345 members of the Jatiya Sangsad consisted of 300 seats directly elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies,^[3] and 45 seats reserved for women. The reserved seats were distributed based on the national vote share.^[4]

Conduct[]

The international^[5] and national monitors declared the polling free and fair even though the Awami League alleged massive vote rigging by the BNP. The accusation was denied by the Chief Election Commissioner, who declared the charges "baseless".^[6] International observers, from the European Union, the United Nations and the Carter Center^[7] of former US President Jimmy Carter, also praised the heavy voter turnout, which was 75%.^[2]

Results[]

The BNP were the clear winners in terms of seats, winning a secure majority with 193 (of 300) seats. BNP's allied parties Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Jatiya Party (Manju) and Islami Oikya Jote also won a combined 23 seats, bringing the alliance total to 216 seats. As a result of the first-past-the-post voting system in Bangladesh, Awami League only secured 62 seats, despite a difference in popular vote share of only ≈1.4%. Voter turnout was very high at 75%.^[2]

Of the 300 directly elected seats, only seven were won by women.^[8] This parliament marked an increase in the number of reserved seats for women (which are in addition to the 300 directly elected seats) from 30 to 45. Of these 45 reserved seats, 36 were awarded to BNP.^[2]

Aftermath[]

There were reports of violence targeting minority communities in the immediate wake of the elections.^[9]

With a clear majority BNP leader Khaleda Zia was invited to form a government and on 10 October 2001, was sworn in as Prime Minister and formed her Cabinet, which included members of her allied parties. The first sitting of the Eighth Parliament occurred on 28 October 2001^[1] with Jamiruddin Sircar as its new Speaker.

Zia's administration completed a full five-year term, running from 28 October 2001 to 27 October 2006. However, disputes over the selection of a caretaker government, with disagreements between the parties over their neutrality, led to the 2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis, which eventually resulted in military intervention. New elections would not be held until December 2008.

References[]