1979 Bangladeshi general election

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1979 Bangladeshi general election
Flag of Bangladesh.svg
  1973 18 February 1979 1986  

300 of the 330 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad
151 seats needed for a majority
Registered38,363,858
Turnout51.29% (Decrease2.svg 3.62pp)
 First partySecond party
  Ziaur Rahman Brussels 1979 (cropped).jpg 3x4.svg
Leader Ziaur Rahman Asaduzzaman Khan
Party BNP AL
Last election293 seats
Seats won20739
Seat changeNewDecrease2.svg 256
Popular vote7,934,2364,734,277
Percentage41.17%24.56%

Senior Minister (acting Prime Minister) before election

Mashiur Rahman
BNP

Subsequent Prime Minister

Shah Azizur Rahman
BNP

General elections were held in Bangladesh on 18 February 1979. The result was a victory for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the party of the incumbent military regime, which won 207 of the 300 directly elected seats, although it only won 41% of the vote. [1] [2] Voter turnout was 51%. [3] [4] The Awami League became the main opposition party after winning 39 seats. [5]

The elections were organized by the military regime in Bangladesh. [6] The elections were postponed twice, as they were initially supposed to be held in December 1978. [6] The political opposition in Bangladesh intended to boycott the elections, unless the military regime the military regime withdrew martial law, assured that there would be a parliamentary system, released political prisoners, and restored full press freedom. [6] Ziaur Rahman made some concessions to the opposition, but the fell short of their full demands. [6] Subsequently some opposition parties decided to take part in the elections. [7]

Results

Bangladesh Parliament Election 1979.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
GeneralReservedTotal+/–
Bangladesh Nationalist Party 7,934,23641.1720730237New
Awami League 4,734,27724.5639039–269
Bangladesh Muslim LeagueIslamic Democratic League 1,941,39410.0720020New
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal 931,8514.83808+7
Awami League (Mizan) 535,4262.78202New
National Awami Party (Muzaffar) 432,5142.24101New
United Peoples' Party 170,9550.89000New
Bangladesh Gono Front 115,6220.60202New
National Awami Party (Nurur-Zahid)88,3850.46000New
Communist Party of Bangladesh 75,4550.390000
Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist–Leninist) 74,7710.39101New
Bangladesh Jatiya League 69,3190.36202+1
Jatiya Ekata Party 44,4590.23101New
Bangladesh Ganatantrik Andolan 34,2590.18101New
Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal 27,2590.14000New
National Awami Party (Naser)25,3360.13000New
Bangladesh Janata Dal18,7480.10000New
National Republican Party for Parity14,4290.07000New
Jatiya Janata Party10,9320.06000New
Bangladesh Labour Party7,7380.04000New
People's Democratic Party5,7030.03000New
Sramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal 4,9540.03000New
Bangladesh Democratic Party3,5640.02000New
Bangladesh Jatiya Mukti Party3,3630.02000New
Bangladesh Tanti Samity1,8340.01000New
Bangladesh Nizam-e-Islam Party 1,5750.01000New
Gano Azadi League 1,3780.01000New
United Republican Party3890.00000New
Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chashi Dal1300.00000New
Independents1,963,34510.1916016+15
Total19,273,600100.0030030330+15
Valid votes19,273,60097.95
Invalid/blank votes402,5242.05
Total votes19,676,124100.00
Registered voters/turnout38,363,85851.29
Source: Nohlen et al., IPU, Government of Bangladesh

References

  1. Islam, Syed Serajul (1984). "The State in Bangladesh under Zia (1975-81)" . Asian Survey. 24 (5): 556–573. doi:10.2307/2644413. ISSN   0004-4687.
  2. "Election History". Dhaka Tribune . Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  3. Dieter Nohlen; Florian Grotz; Christof Hartmann (2001). Elections in Asia: A data handbook. Vol. I. p. 535. ISBN   0-19-924958-X.
  4. Government of Bangladesh (1991). A Background Paper on Bangladesh Parliamentary Elections. Dhaka: Press Information Department (Handout No. 429).
  5. Bangladesh 1979. Inter-Parliamentary Union
  6. 1 2 3 4 Baxter, Craig; Rashiduzzaman, M. (1981). "Bangladesh Votes: 1978 and 1979" . Asian Survey. 21 (4): 485–500. doi:10.2307/2643936. ISSN   0004-4687.
  7. Khan, Mohammad Mohabbat; Zafarullah, Habib Mohammad (October 1979). "The 1979 Parliamentary Elections in Bangladesh". Asian Survey. 19 (10): 1023–1036. doi:10.2307/2643851. JSTOR   2643851.