Country: | Bangladesh |
Type: | parliamentary |
Turnout: | 74.97% |
Previous Election: | June 1996 Bangladeshi general election |
Previous Year: | June 1996 |
Next Election: | 2008 Bangladeshi general election |
Next Year: | 2008 |
Election Date: | 1 October 2001 |
Seats For Election: | All 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad |
Majority Seats: | 151 |
Registered: | 74,946,364 |
Leader2: | Sheikh Hasina |
Party2: | Awami League |
Last Election2: | 37.44%, 146 seats |
Seats2: | 62 |
Seat Change2: | 84 |
Popular Vote2: | 22,310,276 |
Percentage2: | 40.13% |
Swing2: | 2.69pp |
Image1: | Begum Zia Book-opening Ceremony, 1 Mar, 2010.jpg |
Leader1: | Khaleda Zia |
Party1: | Bangladesh Nationalist Party |
Alliance1: | Oikya Alliance |
Last Election1: | 33.61%, 116 seats |
Seats1: | 193 |
Seat Change1: | 77 |
Popular Vote1: | 23,074,714 |
Percentage1: | 40.97% |
Swing1: | 7.36pp |
Image3: | Motiur Rahman Nizami (1943–2016).jpg |
Imagesize 3: | 220px |
Leader3: | Motiur Rahman Nizami |
Party3: | Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami |
Alliance3: | Oikya Alliance |
Last Election3: | 8.61%, 3 seats |
Seats3: | 17 |
Seat Change3: | 14 |
Popular Vote3: | 2,385,361 |
Percentage3: | 4.28% |
Swing3: | 4.32pp |
Image4: | Hussain Muhammad Ershad.jpg |
Leader4: | H.M. Ershad |
Party4: | Jatiya Party (Ershad) |
Alliance4: | Islami Jatiya Oikya Front |
Last Election4: | 16.40%, 32 seats |
Seats4: | 14 |
Seat Change4: | 18 |
Popular Vote4: | 4,038,453 |
Percentage4: | 7.25% |
Swing4: | 9.15pp |
Prime Minister | |
Posttitle: | Subsequent Prime Minister |
Before Election: | Latifur Rahman (acting) |
Before Party: | Caretaker government |
After Election: | Khaleda Zia |
After Party: | Bangladesh Nationalist Party |
General elections were held in Bangladesh on 1 October 2001. The 300 seats of the Jatiya Sangsad were contested by 1,935 candidates representing 54 parties and 484 independents. The elections were the second to be held under the caretaker government concept, introduced in 1996.
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 became Prime Minister.
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.
The 300 members of the Jatiya Sangsad were elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.[3] The law providing for 30 seats reserved for women had expired prior to the elections.[4]
The international[5] 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".[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%.
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%.
Of the 300 seats, only seven were won by women.[8]
There were reports of violence targeting minority Hindus 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 with Jamiruddin Sircar as its new Speaker.
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.[10] [11] [8]
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 were not held until December 2008.