2001 Bangladeshi general election

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.

2001 Bangladeshi general election

1 October 2001
All 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad 151 seats were needed for a majority
Registered	74,946,364
Turnout	74.96%
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 116 seats, 33.60% 151 seats, 37.40% Seats won 193 62 Seat change 77 84 Popular vote 23,074,714 22,310,276 Percentage 41.40% 40.02% Swing 6.80% 2.62%
Prime Minister before election Sheikh Hasina Awami League Subsequent Prime Minister Khaleda Zia BNP

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

Percentage of the seat, by party

  Bangladesh Nationalist Party (64.33%)

  Awami League (20.67%)

  Jatiya Party (4.67%)

  Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (5.67%)

  Independent and Others (5.67%)

Percentage of the popular vote, by party

  4 Party Alliance (45.4%)

  14 Party Alliance (40%)

  Jatiya Party (7.2%)

  Independents (7.4%)

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]

Party	Votes	%	Seats
Bangladesh Nationalist Party	22,833,978	40.97	193
Bangladesh Awami League	22,365,516	40.13	62
Islami Jatiya Oikya Front	4,038,453	7.25	14
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh	2,385,361	4.28	17
Bangladesh Jatiya Party	621,772	1.12	4
Islami Oikya Jote	376,343	0.68	2
Krishak Shramik Janata League	261,344	0.47	1
Jatiya Party (Manju)	243,617	0.44	1
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal	119,382	0.21	0
Communist Party of Bangladesh	56,991	0.10	0
Workers Party of Bangladesh	40,484	0.07	0
Bangladesh Islamic Front	30,761	0.06	0
BASAD–Khalekuzzaman	21,164	0.04	0
Jamiate Ulamae Islam Bangladesh	19,256	0.03	0
Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan	13,472	0.02	0
Gano Forum	8,494	0.02	0
Islami Shasantantra Andolon	5,944	0.01	0
Liberal Party Bangladesh	3,976	0.01	0
National Awami Party (NAP)	3,801	0.01	0
Bangladesh Progressive Party	3,734	0.01	0
Gonotantri Party	3,190	0.01	0
Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal	2,308	0.00	0
Bangladesh Janata Party	1,703	0.00	0
Bangladesh Krisak Sramik Mukti Andolon	1,248	0.00	0
Jaker Party	1,181	0.00	0
Bangladesh Peoples Congress	1,155	0.00	0
Communist Kendra	1,042	0.00	0
Bangladesh Sammyabadi Dal (Marxist–Leninist)	972	0.00	0
Bangladesh Hindu League	922	0.00	0
Gano Azadi League	780	0.00	0
Jatiyo Janata Party (Adv. Nurul Islam Khan)	657	0.00	0
Bangladesh Muslim League (Jamir Ali)	582	0.00	0
National Patriotic Party	551	0.00	0
National Awami Party (Bhashani)	442	0.00	0
Bangladesh Jatiya Tanti Dal	441	0.00	0
Samridha Bangladesh Andolon	429	0.00	0
Sramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal	391	0.00	0
Bangladesh Peoples Party	382	0.00	0
Desh Prem Party	366	0.00	0
Democratic Republican Party	364	0.00	0
Bangladesh Manabadhikar Dal	237	0.00	0
Bangladesh Krisak Sramik Janata Party	197	0.00	0
Liberal Democrats Party	170	0.00	0
Quran Darshan Sangstha Bangladesh	161	0.00	0
Jatiya Janata Party (Sheik Asad)	148	0.00	0
Pragatishil Gonotantrik Shakti	136	0.00	0
Sama-Samaj Gonotantri Party	131	0.00	0
National Awami Party (NAP-Vasani Mushtaq)	79	0.00	0
Quran and Sunnah Bastabayan Party	77	0.00	0
Bhasani Front	76	0.00	0
Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League	59	0.00	0
Bangladesh Vasani Adarsha Bastabayan Parishad	58	0.00	0
Bangladesh Sarbahara Party	44	0.00	0
Jatiya Janata Party (Hafizur)	30	0.00	0
Independents	2,262,073	4.06	6
Invalid/blank votes	449,082	–	–
Total	56,185,707	100	300
Registered voters/turnout	74,946,364	74.9	–
Source: ECB

Parliamentary seats BNP   64.33% Awami League   20.67% IJOF   4.67% JIslami   5.67% O and I   4.67%

Vote Share Of Parties BNP   40.97% Awami League   40.13% IJOF   7.25% JIslami   4.28% O and I   7.37%

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

1. "Tenure of All Parliaments". Bangladesh Parliament. 12 August 2018. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
2. "IPU PARLINE database: BANGLADESH (Jatiya Sangsad), Elections in 2001". archive.ipu.org. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
3. Electoral system IPU
4. Ahmed, Nizam; Hasan, Sadik (2018). "Alangkar or Ahangkar? Reserved-Seat Women Members in the Bangladesh Parliament" (PDF). In Ahmed, Nizam (ed.). Women in Governing Institions in South Asia. Springer. p. 18. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-57475-2_2. ISBN 978-3-319-57474-5.
5. "Bangladesh parliamentary Elections 1 October 2001: Final Report" (PDF). EU Election Observation Mission. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
6. "Zia wins power in Bangladesh". CNN. 5 October 2001. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
7. "Postelection Statement by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Bangladesh Elections, Oct. 5, 2001". www.cartercenter.org. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
8. Kumar Panday, Pranab (1 September 2008). "Representation without Participation: Quotas for Women in Bangladesh". International Political Science Review. 29 (4): 489–512. doi:10.1177/0192512108095724.
9. 2001 violence on HindusCaretakers, BNP, Jamaat blamed| bdnews24, 24 April 2011