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General elections were held in
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
on 30 December 2018 to elect 300 directly-elected members of the
Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of B ...
. The result was a landslide victory for the Awami League led by
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...
. According to political scientist
Ali Riaz Ali Riaz ( bn, আলী রীয়াজ) is a Bangladeshi American political scientist and writer. He is a Distinguished Professor at Illinois State University where he joined in 2002. Most of his work deals with religion and politics, part ...
, the elections were not free and fair. The BBC News reported that they were marred by
violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...
and allegations of vote rigging. Opposition leader
Kamal Hossain Kamal Hossain (born 20 April 1937) is a founding leader, lawyer and politician of Bangladesh. He is known as the "father of the Bangladeshi constitution" and regarded as an icon of secular democracy in the Indian subcontinent. Hossain currently ...
rejected the results, calling it "farcical" and demanding fresh elections to be held under a neutral government. The Bangladesh Election Commission said it would investigate reported vote-rigging allegations from "across the country." The election saw the use of electronic voting machines for the first time.


Electoral system

The 350 members of the
Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of B ...
consist of 300 directly elected seats using
first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
in single-member constituencies, and an additional 50 seats reserved for women. The reserved seats are distributed based on the proportional vote share of the contesting parties, and filled with women elected by the elected members. Each parliament sits for a five-year term. Approximately 100 million voters were expected to vote from 40,199 polling stations across the country.
Electronic voting machines An electronic voting machine is a voting machine based on electronics. Two main technologies exist: '' optical scanning'' and '' direct recording'' (DRE). Optical scanning In an optical scan voting system, or marksense, each voter's choices ...
were used in six constituencies.


Background

The previous general elections in January 2014 were
boycotted A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
by the main opposition alliance, led by the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...
(BNP) and three-time former Prime Minister
Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...
. As a result, the Awami League led by Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...
won a landslide victory, taking 234 of the 300 seats in an election that saw 153 seats uncontested.Repolls ordered in 8 constituencies
BD News 24, 14 September 2013
In July 2017, the BNP stated that it was ready to contest the next general elections if parliament was dissolved and the election commission consisted of non-partisan members. On 14 September 2017 the Official Chief Election Commissioner confirmed that the BNP would contest the elections. However, following the conviction of BNP chair
Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...
for corruption, the
High Court of Bangladesh The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, হাইকোর্ট ডিভিশন) popularly known as the 'High Court' is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate D ...
ruled that Zia was ineligible to run for office. As such her role is unclear in any potential government which contained the BNP.


Campaign

In August 2017,
Jatiya Party (Ershad) The Jatiya Party ( bn, জাতীয় পার্টি, translit=Jatiyo Party, lit=National Party) is a conservative, nationalist political party in Bangladesh and is currently the main opposition in the Jatiya Sangsad, against the Awami ...
chairman and former
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Hussain Ershad indicated that he wanted his party to leave the Awami League-led Grand Alliance and join a new alliance with democratic left and Islamic democratic parties. In November 2018 the party announced that it would join the Awami League-led alliance. On 28 December, Ershad announced Jatiya Party candidates contesting from “open seats” would support the ruling Awami League-led grand alliance candidates and extended his support to "my is'sister' Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina". Ershad personally withdrew from contesting the
Dhaka-17 Dhaka-17 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2019 by Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooque of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Dhaka Cantonment and Dhaka North City Co ...
seat in favour of the Awami League candidate. Ershad said however that “strong candidates” of his party would stay in the race. On 13 October 2018, the
Jatiya Oikya Front Jatiya Oikya Front (English: National Unity Front; bn, জাতীয় ঐক্য ফ্রন্ট) was a Bangladesh-based political alliance of primarily four parties led by Kamal Hossain. The front officially declared its formation on ...
(National Unity Front) was formed, consisting primarily of the
Gano Forum Gano Forum ( bn, গণফোরাম), literally ''People's Forum'', is a political party in Bangladesh. GF was formed through a split of the Awami League and the merger of civil society groups in 1992. The party is headed by one of its found ...
,
Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...
,
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal ( bn, জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, 'National Socialist Party') is a political party in Bangladesh. It was formed in 2002, through a split from the original Jatiya Samajtantrik Da ...
and
Nagorik Oikya ''Nagarik'' ( bn, নাগরিক), also spelled as ''Nagorik'', ''The Citizen'' in English, was the first feature-length film directed by legendary Indian director Ritwik Ghatak. Completed in 1952, it preceded Satyajit Ray's ''Pather Panch ...
, led by former Foreign Minister
Kamal Hossain Kamal Hossain (born 20 April 1937) is a founding leader, lawyer and politician of Bangladesh. He is known as the "father of the Bangladeshi constitution" and regarded as an icon of secular democracy in the Indian subcontinent. Hossain currently ...
of the
Gano Forum Gano Forum ( bn, গণফোরাম), literally ''People's Forum'', is a political party in Bangladesh. GF was formed through a split of the Awami League and the merger of civil society groups in 1992. The party is headed by one of its found ...
. On 18 December the alliance announced a 14-point manifesto, which included a pledge to reduce the power of the office of
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
. There was controversy in the run up to the elections surrounding the nomination of banned Jamaati candidates under the BNP banner. In 2013, the hard-line, right-wing, Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami was banned from registering and therefore contesting in elections by the High Court, citing their charter violates the constitution. Twenty-five Jamaati candidates ran in the election, with twenty-two nominations for BNP and three running as independents. An investigation was launched but on 23 December the Election Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said they had examined the related law and "there is no scope for rejecting the Jamaat leaders' candidacy at this moment." On 26 December, just days before the election, Jatiya Oikya Front leader Kamal Hossain expressed his regret about Jamaat's involvement in the elections under his alliance, claiming "had I known
hat Jamaat leaders will be given BNP tickets A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
I would not have been part of it." The media however had reported involvement at the end of November. In accordance with election commission rules, campaigning was halted at 08:00 AM on the morning of 28 December.


Parties and alliances


Conduct


Violence

Between 9 and 12 December 2018, 47 incidents of violence were reported, in which eight people were killed and 560 were injured. According to the BNP Office, as of 26 December 2018, at least 12,923 people (mostly BNP, Jatiya Oikya Front and 18 Party Alliance activists) had been injured in 2,833 attacks on opposition candidates. Between 8 November and 25 December, at least 1,574 cases were filed against BNP officials in different districts. During the same period, 15,568 activists were arrested. According to The Daily Star, at least 56 candidates, mostly from the BNP, were attacked, with around 1,190 people injured and over 800 BNP-Jamaat officials arrested between 10 and 28 December. On 29 December, the day before the elections, the
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ টেলিযোগাযোগ নিয়ন্ত্রণ কমিশন) is an independent commission founded under the Bangladesh Telecommunic ...
suspended 3G and 4G connections across the country until after the elections. Newspaper Daily Star wrote on 17 December 2018 that in violence before Bangladesh elections some opposition candidates were attacked, 13 of them were injured and two arrested On election day, at least 17 people were killed in clashes between ruling party supporters and the opposition. Reports say that many supporters of the opposition Parties were arrested just before Bangladesh elections on 30 December 2018. The violence that erupted before the election day left at least 17 people dead. On 3 January 2019,
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
called for an investigation on attack on members of the opposition party on and before Bangladesh elections.


Vote rigging

A BBC correspondent reported seeing a ballot box already full of votes prior to the polling station in Chittagong opening.Bangladesh election: Opposition demands new vote
BBC News, 30 December 2018
Allegations of voting irregularities including polling booths inexplicably closing for “lunch breaks”, voters being turned away and ballots being counted unrealistically quickly were widespread. Local media published accounts by correspondents who claimed to have witnessed Awami League members stuffing ballot boxes in the presence of police and election officials. Voters also complained about getting the ruling party's symbol stamped on their ballot papers and being instructed to vote for the ruling party in polling centers. In the presence of the voting officers, some voters had to vote for Awami League candidates and refused to accept, yet their ballots were also dropped into the ballot box. The Bangladesh Election Commission promised to investigate numerous reports of vote rigging.


Suppression of opposition

Opposition candidates had encountered violence, threats and harassment when they attempted to campaign. Dozen of candidates of the main opposition party, the BNP, were arrested on spurious charges. Few electoral agents from the opposition showed up at polling stations. Those who did show up were prevented from entering the stations by supporters of the ruling party, according to Kamal Hossain.


Results


By constituency


Reactions

* The Fifth King of Bhutan and Prime Minister of Bhutan
Lotay Tshering Lotay Tshering ( dz, བློ་གྲོས་ཚེ་རིང་; born 10 May 1969) is a Bhutanese politician and surgeon who is the current Prime Minister of Bhutan, in office since 7 November 2018. He has also been the president of Druk ...
congratulated Hasina and her party in a written message of congratulation. * Chinese President
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
and Prime Minister of China Li Keqiang greeted Sheikh Hasina on a landslide victory. * Prime Minister of India
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
congratulated Hasina on the landslide victory. *
Prime Minister of Nepal The Prime Minister of Nepal ( ne, नेपालको प्रधानमन्त्री) is the head of government of Nepal. The Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers of Nepal and the chief adviser to the President of ...
Khadga Prasad Oli Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli ( ne, खड्गप्रसाद शर्मा ओली, ; born 22 February 1952) is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served three terms as prime minister from 11 October 2015 to 3 Augu ...
congratulated Hasina on the victory. * Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas congratulated Hasina on her party's victory in a telephone call . * The Emir congratulated Hasina in a written message of congratulation. * President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
congratulated Hasina in a written message of congratulation. * The
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
and Crown prince congratulated Hasina and her party in a written message of congratulation. * The President and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka greeted Sheikh Hasina on a landslide victory.


See also

*
List of members of the 11th Jatiya Sangsad This is a list of Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS ...


Notes


References

{{Bangladeshi elections
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
General election
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
General elections in Bangladesh Election and referendum articles with incomplete results