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
Registered74,946,364
Turnout74.96%
  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%

Partywise Constituency Map 2001

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

  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%)
  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 Party22,833,97840.97193
Bangladesh Awami League22,365,51640.1362
Islami Jatiya Oikya Front4,038,4537.2514
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh2,385,3614.2817
Bangladesh Jatiya Party621,7721.124
Islami Oikya Jote376,3430.682
Krishak Shramik Janata League261,3440.471
Jatiya Party (Manju)243,6170.441
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal119,3820.210
Communist Party of Bangladesh56,9910.100
Workers Party of Bangladesh40,4840.070
Bangladesh Islamic Front30,7610.060
BASAD–Khalekuzzaman21,1640.040
Jamiate Ulamae Islam Bangladesh19,2560.030
Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan13,4720.020
Gano Forum8,4940.020
Islami Shasantantra Andolon5,9440.010
Liberal Party Bangladesh3,9760.010
National Awami Party (NAP)3,8010.010
Bangladesh Progressive Party3,7340.010
Gonotantri Party3,1900.010
Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal2,3080.000
Bangladesh Janata Party1,7030.000
Bangladesh Krisak Sramik Mukti Andolon1,2480.000
Jaker Party1,1810.000
Bangladesh Peoples Congress1,1550.000
Communist Kendra1,0420.000
Bangladesh Sammyabadi Dal (Marxist–Leninist)9720.000
Bangladesh Hindu League9220.000
Gano Azadi League7800.000
Jatiyo Janata Party (Adv. Nurul Islam Khan)6570.000
Bangladesh Muslim League (Jamir Ali)5820.000
National Patriotic Party5510.000
National Awami Party (Bhashani)4420.000
Bangladesh Jatiya Tanti Dal4410.000
Samridha Bangladesh Andolon4290.000
Sramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal3910.000
Bangladesh Peoples Party3820.000
Desh Prem Party3660.000
Democratic Republican Party3640.000
Bangladesh Manabadhikar Dal2370.000
Bangladesh Krisak Sramik Janata Party1970.000
Liberal Democrats Party1700.000
Quran Darshan Sangstha Bangladesh1610.000
Jatiya Janata Party (Sheik Asad)1480.000
Pragatishil Gonotantrik Shakti1360.000
Sama-Samaj Gonotantri Party1310.000
National Awami Party (NAP-Vasani Mushtaq)790.000
Quran and Sunnah Bastabayan Party770.000
Bhasani Front760.000
Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League590.000
Bangladesh Vasani Adarsha Bastabayan Parishad580.000
Bangladesh Sarbahara Party440.000
Jatiya Janata Party (Hafizur)300.000
Independents2,262,0734.066
Invalid/blank votes449,082
Total56,185,707100300
Registered voters/turnout74,946,36474.9
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
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