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2018 Bangladeshi general election
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2018 Bangladeshi general election
General elections were held in Bangladesh on 30 December 2018 to elect 300 directly elected members of the Jatiya Sangsad. The result was another landslide victory for the Awami League-led Grand Alliance led by Sheikh Hasina. The elections were marred by violence, and were widely considered by opposition politicians and the international community to be rigged.
According to political scientist Ali Riaz, the elections were not free and fair. BBC News, among others, observed some apparent vote rigging by the Awami League, with some referring to it as the 'midnight election' due to ballot boxes allegedly being filled the night before election day. Opposition leader Kamal Hossain 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", but never did. The Awami League called it "one of the best elections held ever." The election saw the use of electronic voting machines for the first time.
The previous general elections in January 2014 were boycotted by the main opposition alliance, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and former prime minister Khaleda Zia. As a result, the Awami League, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, won a landslide victory, taking 234 of the 300 seats in an election that saw 153 seats uncontested.
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 chief election commissioner confirmed that the BNP would contest the elections. However, following the conviction of BNP chair Khaleda Zia for corruption, the High Court of Bangladesh ruled that Zia was ineligible to run for office. As such, her role is unclear in any potential government which contained the BNP.
The 350 members of the Jatiya Sangsad consist of 300 directly elected seats using first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies, and an additional 50 seats reserved for women. The reserved seats are distributed based on the vote share of the contesting parties, and filled with women selected by the elected members via the single transferable vote. 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 were used in six constituencies.
The electoral system has been criticised as disproportional and a key driver of political deadlock in the country.
Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda initially announced 23 December 2018 as the date of the general election. According to the schedule, the last date for filing candidate nomination papers was 19 November, and the last date for withdrawal of candidates was 29 November.
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2018 Bangladeshi general election
General elections were held in Bangladesh on 30 December 2018 to elect 300 directly elected members of the Jatiya Sangsad. The result was another landslide victory for the Awami League-led Grand Alliance led by Sheikh Hasina. The elections were marred by violence, and were widely considered by opposition politicians and the international community to be rigged.
According to political scientist Ali Riaz, the elections were not free and fair. BBC News, among others, observed some apparent vote rigging by the Awami League, with some referring to it as the 'midnight election' due to ballot boxes allegedly being filled the night before election day. Opposition leader Kamal Hossain 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", but never did. The Awami League called it "one of the best elections held ever." The election saw the use of electronic voting machines for the first time.
The previous general elections in January 2014 were boycotted by the main opposition alliance, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and former prime minister Khaleda Zia. As a result, the Awami League, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, won a landslide victory, taking 234 of the 300 seats in an election that saw 153 seats uncontested.
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 chief election commissioner confirmed that the BNP would contest the elections. However, following the conviction of BNP chair Khaleda Zia for corruption, the High Court of Bangladesh ruled that Zia was ineligible to run for office. As such, her role is unclear in any potential government which contained the BNP.
The 350 members of the Jatiya Sangsad consist of 300 directly elected seats using first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies, and an additional 50 seats reserved for women. The reserved seats are distributed based on the vote share of the contesting parties, and filled with women selected by the elected members via the single transferable vote. 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 were used in six constituencies.
The electoral system has been criticised as disproportional and a key driver of political deadlock in the country.
Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda initially announced 23 December 2018 as the date of the general election. According to the schedule, the last date for filing candidate nomination papers was 19 November, and the last date for withdrawal of candidates was 29 November.
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