By Xinhua,
Dhaka : Bangladesh is holding its 9th parliamentary election on Monday with 1,555 candidates from 39 parties and independents are contesting the 299 seats of the Parliament out of the 300 seats. The election for the other seat was postponed to be held on Jan. 12 next year due to the death of one candidate.
Following are the introduction of all the general elections held in Bangladesh since its independence in 1971.
The first general election in independent Bangladesh was held on March 7, 1973 where a total of 1,209 candidates, including 120 independents, contested for 300 seats.
Of the total 35,205,642 registered voters, 19,329,683 (54.91 percent) voters exercised their franchise in the first election with the Bangladesh Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibu Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh, securing 293 seats while the remaining 7 seats were shared by smaller parties and independents.
The election to the 2nd Parliament was held on Feb. 28, 1979 with the participation of 2,547 candidates representing 29 parties and independents.
The 3rd parliamentary elections were held on May 7, 1986 where a total of 1,980 candidates representing 28 parties and independents contested for 300 seats.
The Jatiya Party, led by then military ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad, bagged highest 153 seats while the Bangladesh Awami League won 73 seats in the 1986 elections. Nearly 66.31 percent of the 47,876,979 registered voters exercised their franchise.
The 4th parliamentary elections were held on March 3, 1988. Thenumber of candidates totaled 1,192 representing 8 parties and independents.
The 5th general elections were held on Feb. 27, 1991 with 2,787candidates, representing 75 parties and independents, contested for the 300 seats.
The highest 169 seats were bagged by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), founded by former president Ziaur Rahman, which formed the government with Khaleda Zia, who joined politics after her husband Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in 1981, as prime minister. The Bangladesh Awami League secured 92 seats to emerge as the main opposition in the parliament while the Jatiya Party of HM Ershad won 35 seats.
The turnout was approximately 52 percent of the registered voters totaling 62,289,556 in the 5th elections.
The 6th parliamentary elections held on February 15, 1996 were later canceled as except the BNP all the major political parties, including the Awami League, boycotted the controversial election.
In the 7th general elections held on June 12, 1996 under a caretaker government, a total of 2,574 candidates took part. The candidates represented 81 parties and independents. The Bangladesh Awami League formed the government securing 146 seats in the election while the BNP got 116.
The last general election was held on Oct. 1, 2001 for the 8th Parliament. A total of 1,935 candidates representing 54 parties and independents contested in the polls. The election was the second to be held under the caretaker government concept, introduced in the Constitution in 1996. The BNP won 193 seats while its key political rival the Awami League got only 62 seats. Total turnout of voters was nearly 74.9 percent.
The 9th parliamentary elections, scheduled for Jan. 22, 2007, was canceled after a declaration of state of emergency on Jan. 11,2007 amid political turmoil.