At stake in this election:

• 300 seats in the National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Iajuddin AHMED *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister VACANT **
• Assembly: Bangladesh has a unicameral National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad) with 300 seats.

* Bangladesh currently has a caretaker government until general elections can be held. While his 5-year term has expired, President AHMED remains in office as caretaker president.

** The office of Prime Minister was vacated upon the conclusion of the pervious parliamentary term in 2006. The office of Chief Caretaker Advisor, roughly equivalent to that of Prime Minister in the current caretaker government, is currently held by Fakhruddin AHMED.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by parliament to serve a 5-year term.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the President.
• In the National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad) 300 members are elected by simple majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.***

*** The parliamentary term expired in 2006, and new parliamentary elections originally planned for January 2007, have seen multiple delays. Bangladesh has been under emergency rule in the meantime.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) / Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Dôl
  • Leader: Khaleda ZIA
  • Seats won in last election: 193
  • Seats won in this election: 30
• Party: Awami League (AL)
  • Leader: Sheikh HASINA
  • Seats won in last election: 62
  • Seats won in this election: 231
• Party: Bagladesh Islamic Assembly / Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (JIB)
  • Leader: Matiur Rahman NIZAMI
  • Seats won in last election: 17
  • Seats won in this election: 2
• Party: National Party / Jatiya Party (JP)
  • Leader: Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD
  • Seats won in last election: 14
  • Seats won in this election: 26
• Party: Other Parties/Independents
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 14
  • Seats won in this election: 11

Last Parliamentary election:

• The last parliamentary election took place on 1 October 2001.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 153,546,896 (July 2008 est.)
• Registered Voters: 81,130,973 (October 2008 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 73,087,466 (2008)

·         Is Bangladesh a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Bangladesh ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (6 November 1984)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 64 (following the 2008 election)

·         Human Development Index Position: 142 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Bangladesh a signatory to CRPD: Yes (9 May 2007)

·         Has Bangladesh ratified CRPD: Yes (30 November 2007)

·         Population with a disability: 23,032,034 (est.)