IFES
 

Jan. 7, 2024 Held

Bangladesh

People's Republic of Bangladesh

Election for Jatiya Sangsad (Bangladeshi National Parliament)


General Information

At Stake in this Election: 

  • 300 seats in the Bangladeshi National Parliament 

Government Structure:  

  • Chief of State: President Mohammad SHAHABUDDIN (since 24 April 2023)  

  • Head of Government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA (since 6 January 2009) 

  • Assembly: unicameral National Parliament (জাতীয় সংসদ / Jatiya Sangsad) with 350 seats 

Electoral System:  

  • The President is indirectly elected by the National Parliament and may serve up to two 5-year terms. 

  • The office of Prime Minister is granted to the parliamentary majority leader by the President. 

  • In the National Parliament, 300 members are directly elected by plurality vote. An additional 50 female members are indirectly elected by parties within Parliament. Seats reserved for women are distributed among parties based on proportional representation. All members serve 5-year terms. 

New/Unique in this Election:  

The Representation of the People Order (RPO) Act was amended in mid-2023 with a provision for reducing the Bangladesh Election Commission (BEC)'s power to cancel an election, even if it detects fraud. The amended RPO stipulates that the BEC can suspend elections only on the polling day. Also, the BEC can suspend the results of only those polling stations where irregularities have been reported. Previously, the BEC could postpone an election at any stage if it thought that it could not hold a lawful election due to irregularities or malpractices.

A second recent change is the passage of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners Appointment Act in 2022, which lays out the appointment process for the Chief Election Commission and other election commissioners. The Act includes the qualifications for members of the BEC as well as formalization of a search committee to nominate the BEC members for presidential approval

Information for Voters: 

Voter Registration Form / নিবন্ধন ফর্ম (in Bengali)

Key Deadlines: 

Main Parties in this Election: 

  • Awami League / বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগ (AL) 

  • Leader: Sheikh Hasina 

  • Jatiya Party / জাতীয় পার্টি (JP) 

  • Leader: Ghulam Muhammed QUADER  

Note: 27 other parties have registered candidates. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the most prominent opposition party, has boycotted the election. The Jamaat-e-Islami, one of Bangladesh's other significant political entities, is not registered and therefore not formally participating in the election.

 

Population: 

Gender Data: 

  • Female Population: 86,327,160 (2022) 

  • CEDAW Status: Ratified (by accession) 6 November 1984 

  • Gender Quota:  Yes; 50 parliamentary seats are reserved for women. These seats are distributed proportionally among parties and filled by indirect, intraparty elections. 

Disability Data: 

  • CRPD Status: Signed 9 May 2007, Ratified 30 November 2007 

  • Projected population with a disability: 27,389,819 (2022 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

  • Does IFES have a presence in Bangladesh: Yes, office 

  • Election Access: Yes 

  • Election Judgements: Yes, 2 judgments and 6 resources  

Election Modified: Jan 11, 2024

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With Participation Rates