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People’s Republic of Bangladesh Page |
Welcome to ElectionInfo.com's pages on People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Official Name: People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Capital: Dhaka
Area: 144,000 square kilometres ( 55,599 square miles )
Major cities (Population)
Dhaka 3,600,000 (1995 estimate)
Chittagong 1,364,000 (1991 estimate)
Khulna 545,849 (1991)
Rajshahi 299,671 (1991)
Narayanganj 268,952 (1991)
Population: 120,433,000 (1995 estimate)
Population growth rate: 2.2 per cent (1990-1995 average)
Type of government: Republic
Independence: 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan)
Constitution: 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times.
Voting Rights: Universal at age 18
Government
In its early years as an independent state, Bangladesh had a parliamentary system with a prime minister as chief executive. But in 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s founding father, established a presidential system, which was retained until 1991, when the people voted in a referendum in favour of a return to a parliamentary system. The parliament (Jatiya Sangsad) has 330 seats, 30 of which are reserved for women. A person is permitted to hold more than one seat. The voting age is 18.
Recent History
Bangladesh was part of British India until independence in 1947. With the partition of India, Bangladesh became part of the state of Pakistan, and was known as East Pakistan. Economic neglect by the Pakistani central government, coupled with its political isolation, led to the emergence of a strong nationalist movement, and in 1971 Bangladesh declared its independence from Pakistan. Civil war followed, but India sided with Bangladesh, and Pakistan was forced to accept the secession.
Following independence, the main nationalist party, the Awami League, won an overwhelming victory in the 1973 elections, and introduced a variety of socialist policies, including a policy of nationalization. In 1974 severe flooding and famine provoked widespread unrest, and in 1975 the president, Sheikh Mujib, abolished parliament and established a strong presidency. Soon after this he was assassinated, and a period of political instability followed, until General Muhammed Ershed took power in 1982. In 1990 he resigned in the face of widespread dissatisfaction, and the election in 1991 brought the Bangladeshi National party to power under the leadership of Begum Khalida Zia, the widow of a former president. Following a referendum in September 1991 it was decided to restore the parliamentary system of government.
At the end of March 1996 Khalida Zia resigned in the face of a series of general strikes organized by the main opposition parties, and handed over power to an interim government under Muhammad Habibur Rahman, a former chief justice of the Bangladeshi Supreme Court.
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