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All 300 seats in theJatiya Sangsad 151 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 74,946,364 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 74.97% ( 0.63pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Bangladesh |
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Elections |
 Bangladesh portal |
General elections were held inBangladesh on 1 October 2001. The 300 seats of theJatiya Sangsad were contested by 1,935 candidates representing 54 parties and 484 independents. The elections were the second to be held under thecaretaker government concept, introduced in 1996.
The result was a victory for theFour Party Alliance of theBangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP),Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh,Jatiya Party (Manju) andIslami Oikya Jote. BNP leaderKhaleda Zia becamePrime Minister.
The Seventh Parliament headed byPrime MinisterSheikh 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 thecaretaker government headed byJustice Latifur Rahman.
Shortly after being sworn in as Chief Advisor, Latifur Rahman initiated a major administrative reshuffle, removing 13 secretaries, including the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office. The move generated significant public and political discussion at the time. The BNP demanded a crackdown on illegal arms and the arrest of criminals prior to the general election. During a meeting with journalists, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia expressed confidence in winning a two-thirds majority, or at the very least, a clear majority. The caretaker government soon launched a nationwide special operation, dividing the country into 68 sectors to carry out the campaign. Meanwhile, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina raised concerns about the neutrality of the caretaker government during the election campaign, accusing it of acting in alignment with BNP directives.[3]
The 300 members of theJatiya Sangsad were elected byfirst-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.[4] The law providing for 30 seats reserved for women had expired prior to the elections.[5]
The international[6] and national monitors declared the polling free and fair despite the Awami League alleging massive vote rigging by the BNP. The accusation was denied by the Chief Election Commissioner, who declared the charges "baseless".[7] International observers, from the European Union, the United Nations and the Carter Center[8] of former US PresidentJimmy Carter, also praised the heavy voter turnout, which was 75%.[2]
The BNP were the clear winners in terms of seats, winning a secure majority with 193 of the 300 seats. BNP's allied partiesJamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh,Jatiya Party (Manju) andIslami Oikya Jote also won a combined 23 seats, bringing the alliance total to 216 seats. As a result of thefirst-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 seats, only seven were won by women.[9]
The results were highly disproportionate, with the BNP winning 131 more seats than theAwami League despite their popular vote total differing by less than one percentage point.
 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
| Bangladesh Nationalist Party | 22,833,978 | 40.97 | 193 | |
| Awami League | 22,365,516 | 40.13 | 62 | |
| Islami Jatiya Oikya Front | 4,038,453 | 7.25 | 14 | |
| Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami | 2,385,361 | 4.28 | 17 | |
| Bangladesh Jatiya Party | 621,772 | 1.12 | 4 | |
| Islami Oikya Jote | 376,343 | 0.68 | 2 | |
| Krishak Sramik 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 Islami Front | 30,761 | 0.06 | 0 | |
| BASAD–Khalekuzzaman | 21,164 | 0.04 | 0 | |
| Jamiat Ulema-e-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 | |
| Ganatantri Party | 3,190 | 0.01 | 0 | |
| Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal | 2,308 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Bangladesh Janata Party | 1,703 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Mukti Andolon | 1,248 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Zaker Party | 1,181 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Bangladesh Peoples Congress | 1,155 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Communist Kendra | 1,042 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Communist Party of Bangladesh (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 Ganotantrik Shakti | 136 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Sama-Samaj Ganotantri Party | 131 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| National Awami Party (NAP-Bhashani Mushtaq) | 79 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Quran and Sunnah Bastabayan Party | 77 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Bhashani Front | 76 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League | 59 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Bangladesh Bhashani 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 | |
| Total | 55,736,625 | 100.00 | 300 | |
| Valid votes | 55,736,625 | 99.20 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 449,082 | 0.80 | ||
| Total votes | 56,185,707 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 74,946,364 | 74.97 | ||
| Source:ECB | ||||
There werereports of violence targeting minority Hindus in the immediate wake of the elections.[10]
With a clear majority BNP leaderKhaleda Zia was invited to form a government and on 10 October 2001, was sworn in as Prime Minister and formed herCabinet, which included members of her allied parties. The first sitting of the Eighth Parliament occurred on 28 October 2001[1] withJamiruddin Sircar as its new Speaker.
Awami League President Sheikh Hasina initially remained firm in her decision not to join the newly elected parliament. She rejected the election results, alleging large-scale rigging, and announced a half-day nationwide blockade along with other protest programmes. Quoting her,The Daily Sangbad reported her saying that the Four-Party Alliance had secured a two-thirds majority, making the AL’s presence in parliament inconsequential, and that the party would continue its struggle to protect people's right to vote. The Awami League strongly criticized outgoing Chief Advisor Latifur Rahman, although in his farewell address, he maintained that his caretaker government had acted impartially. While Awami League MPs eventually took their oaths, the party did not immediately decide on joining parliamentary sessions. Hasina alleged that Awami League leaders, activists, and minorities across the country were being targeted with violence, killings, and looting by ruling party supporters. Amidst continuing political tensions, the Awami League ultimately decided to join parliament.[3]
In 2004, a constitutional amendment was passed reinstating the reserved seats for women and increasing the number from 30 to 45. The seats were now allocated based on the proportion of seats won by each party rather than being elected by directly elected MPs. The reserved seats were to be allocated on 6 September 2005 but the Awami League refused to nominate candidates for the nine seats the party was entitled to in protest at the seats not being directly elected. On 2 October the nine vacant seats were reallocated, of which six went to the BNP. After the reallocation, the BNP had 36 reserved seats, Islami Jatiya Oikya Front four, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami three and the Bangladesh Jatiya Party and Islami Oikya Jote one each.[11][12][9]
Zia's administration completed a full five-year term, running from 28 October 2001 to 27 October 2006. However, disputes over the selection of acaretaker government, with disagreements between the parties over their neutrality, led to the2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis, which eventually resulted in military intervention. New elections were not held untilDecember 2008.
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