2024 Bangladeshi general election

Parts of this article (those related to vote counts) need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2024)

2024 Bangladeshi general election

← 2018 7 January 2024 Next →
All 300 directly elected seats in the Jatiya Sangsad 151 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	41.8%[1] (39.4pp)
First party Second party   Leader Sheikh Hasina GM Quader Party AL JP(E) Leader's seat Gopalganj-3 (won) Rangpur-3 (won) Last election 74.63%, 257 seats 5.22%, 26 seats Seats won 224 11 Seat change 34 15
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Sheikh Hasina AL Subsequent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina AL

General elections were held in Bangladesh on 7 January 2024 in accordance with the current constitutional requirement, stating that elections must take place within the 90-day period before the expiration of the current term of the Jatiya Sangsad on 29 January 2024. The Awami League, led by incumbent Sheikh Hasina, won the election for the fourth consecutive time with less than 40% of the eligible voters voting according to an Election Commission, which is run by the ruling political party.^[5][2][6][7] The party won 224 seats while independent candidates, most of whom were Awami League members propped up as dummy candidates to give a semblance of competition, won 62 seats.^[8][9][10]

In the lead-up to the election, the incumbent government led by Sheikh Hasina cracked down on opposition parties and silenced critics of the government.^[11][12][13] Hasina's prime ministership has been described as authoritarian since being re-elected in 2008,^{[14][15][16][17]} and in 2011 removed the requirement that a temporary independent caretaker government be formed to hold elections. The main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, boycotted the elections (similar to in 2014 and in 2018) as they assumed that the election commission under the incumbent government were unable to organise a free and fair election.^[13]

A protest over the turnout in the election emerged as the Chief Election Commissioner, based on the data in his hand initially claimed that the turnout was 28% but later retracted from that to claim the turnout to be around 40%.^[9][7]

The United States Department of State said that the election was not free and fair^[18] and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office termed the election lacking the preconditions of democracy.^[19] According to The Economist, through this election, Bangladesh effectively became a one-party state.^[20]

Background

The Awami League won the 2018 general elections and formed the government.^[21] The first session of the parliament sat on 30 January 2019. As the tenure of a parliament lasts five years in Bangladesh^[5] the current Sangsad is scheduled to expire on 29 January 2024.

The main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), demanded that the government hand over power to a neutral caretaker government before the next elections.^[22] This has been rejected by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who vowed that "Bangladesh will never allow an unelected government again".^[23] Hasina's resistance to a caretaker government arose following the 2006–2008 crisis, during which a caretaker government assumed military control of the country and arrested a number of political leaders, including Hasina and BNP leader Khaleda Zia.^[24] Zia was sentenced to prison for five years on February 8, 2018, for her involvement in the Zia Orphanage corruption case.^[25] The sentence was then modified to 10 years.^[26] Khaleda Zia's successor as chair of the party, her son Tarique Rahman, was also found guilty of criminal conspiracy and multiple counts of murder for a grenade attack in 2004 that injured Hasina and killed 24 people.^[27] He was sentenced to life in prison. As such, he was barred from running for office.^[28]

In order to guarantee that the election will be conducted in accordance with electoral law and the constitution, the 2024 Bangladesh Election Commission was formed on 27 February 2022.^[29] It is responsible for announcing election schedules, outlining constituency zones, preparing electoral rolls, supervising the elections, announcing the election's results, and establishing election boards to settle any election disputes.^[30] It is chaired by Kazi Habibul Awal, Md. Alamgir, Anisur Rahman, Rashida Sultana Emily and Ahsan Habib Khan.^[31]

In the election, President Mohammed Shahabuddin and first lady Rebecca Sultana used postal ballot to cast their vote on 3 January 2024. It is the first instances of using postal ballot in the history of elections in Bangladesh.^[32]

Electoral system

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 elected proportionally by the elected members. Each parliament sits for a five-year term.^[33]

Pre-electoral statistics and information

According to the data released by the Election Commission on 4 January 2024, the total number of voters in the next parliamentary election is 119,689,289 people. Among them, 60,769,741 are men voters, 58,918,699 are women voters and 849 hijra voters.^[34] According to EC, 28 political parties and a total of 1,970 candidates are contesting the election, of which 436 are independent candidates. Total final polling centres are 42,148 and final polling booths are 261,564.^[35][36]

Controversies

The BNP has demanded that there should be a caretaker government during election season because, as Citizens for Good Governance founder-secretary Badiul Alam Majumder has claimed, every election in Bangladesh that was not conducted under a caretaker government has been marred by irregularities.^[37][22] Without a caretaker government, the BNP has stated its intent to boycott the elections. On 17 May 2023, BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said: "[Our] movement and elections cannot go hand in hand. Participating in elections under [the current government] means to validate them. We cannot continue our movement with those who compete in the elections when the leaders and activists are being arrested and harassed while protesting to free the country from this illegal government.  Rather, it is time to identify them and uproot them politically."^[38] On June 3, 2023, the BNP expelled 43 of its leaders for life as a result of their decision to participate in the Sylhet City Corporation election.^[39]

Jamaat-e-Islami was banned from participating in elections in 2013, and many of its former leaders have gone on to form the Bangladesh Development Party (BDP), which intends to participate in the elections. The president of the BDP, Anwarul Islam Chan, has denied any affiliations with the Jamaat, saying: "The post-liberation generation was born after independence. We are a political party and not interested in such issues" as opposing Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan.^[40][41]

The Awami League, on the other hand, has insisted that a caretaker government would be unconstitutional and that the Election Commission is independent and sanctioned by law.^[22][42]

The Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted "the electoral process will remain under strict vigilance, including by international observers as accredited by the Election Commission."^[43] Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen said on April 10, 2023, in a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the independent election commission is key to holding fair, transparent elections.^[44]

Foreign positions

United States

On 23 May 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new visa policy vis-a-vis Bangladesh to support the country's goal of holding free, fair, and peaceful national elections. The policy states that the US would "restrict the issuance of visas for any Bangladeshi individual, believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh", including "current and former Bangladeshi officials, members of pro-government and opposition political parties, and members of law enforcement, the judiciary, and security services". The policy lists actions that would undermine the election process as "vote rigging, voter intimidation, the use of violence to prevent people from exercising their right to freedoms of association and peaceful assembly, and the use of measures designed to prevent political parties, voters, civil society, or the media from disseminating their views".^[45]

The restrictions were meant to act as a signal to the Bangladeshi government to hold democratic elections and to the BNP to participate in the elections, as a boycott of them could lead to instability.^[46] When asked how the US would navigate a situation in which a party that refuses to participate in the national election would later claim that the election was unfair, US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said: "I don't have anything else to get into, as it's an internal, domestic election" and that all the US wants is that it should be free, fair, and reflective of the will of the Bangladeshi people.^[47]

On 1 August 2023, US Ambassador Peter Haas announced after meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal that a US pre-election monitoring team consisting of experts with previous experience in election monitoring and preparation, would arrive in Bangladesh in October before the election which was subsequently cancelled.^[48]

United Nations

On 4 August 2023, the United Nations denounced pre-election violence in Bangladesh, calling for police "to refrain from excessive use of force amid recurring violence and mass arrests ahead of general elections". This is a human rights issue concerning violence erupting at opposition rallies in 2023, and the harsh response by police using rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons. A UN spokesman said: "Police, alongside men in plain clothing, have been seen using hammers, sticks, bats and iron rods, among other objects, to beat protesters". He added that hundreds of people who oppose the government have been arrested before and during the rallies.^[49]

UN concerns have arisen after Sheikh Hasina rejected demands by the BNP and its allies for the government to step down and allow the January election to be held under a neutral caretaker government. The UN has stressed that Hasina's government "must abide by their human rights obligations and allow people to exercise their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of opinion and expression".^[49]

Responding to the UN statement, Mahfuz Anam commented: "From the looks of it, our two major political parties are preparing for 'gladiatorial' street fights as a part of their election preparation. Can this be democracy?"^[50] Later on August 4, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud attacked the BNP during a mosquito eradication conference in Dhaka, saying: "Dengue mosquitoes bite people and BNP puts people on fire and burns cars. Therefore, like dengue, BNP has to be prevented".^[51]

Soon after Mahfuz Anam spoke, there was a meeting in Dhaka of the 14-party alliance led by the Awami League. They announced a rally to be held on 7 August before Awami League HQ on Bangabandhu Avenue. The purpose of the rally is to protest against the "terror and anarchy" of BNP and to "prevent any conspiracy of the BNP-Jamaat". A spokesman said alliance members will take to the streets across the whole country, besides Dhaka.^[52]

Others

On 7 May 2023, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland to send diversified election observers for the election while stating that her government has made the election commission an independent and powerful institution to strengthen the democratic process in the country.^[53]

A group of human rights organizations wrote to 14 members of United States Congress urging them to be aware of how the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have been operating "overtly and covertly in cahoots with terrorist groups, like Ansar al Islam, since 2001".^[54]

Terry Isley, a member of an independent election monitoring delegation that visited Bangladesh in August 2023, said that the demand for a caretaker government is unconstitutional and illegal in the present political context of Bangladesh. He also expressed disappointment that the BNP refused to meet with the delegation.^[55]

On 20 September 2023, the Election Commission of Bangladesh received a letter from the European Union stating that it would not send a full-fledged election observation mission to the upcoming general election. The letter said Bangladesh's environment is not suitable for election observation.^[56][57] However, in a letter to the Election Commission on October 19, the EU said it would send a 4-member technical team to observe the election.^[58]

Parties and alliances

Source:^[59][60][61]

Alliance/Party				Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats Contested	Seats Contested under Alliance
	Grand Alliance		AL			Sheikh Hasina	263	263	269
			WPB			Rashed Khan Menon	33	2
			JaSaD			Hasanul Haque Inu	91	3
			BTF			Syed Najibul Bashar Maizbhandari	41	0
			JP (M)			Anwar Hossain Manju	20	1
			BSD-ML			Dilip Barua	6	0
	JP (E)					GM Quader	286
	TBNP					Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury	151
	UF		BKP			Syed Muhammad Ibrahim	20	20	38
			BJP			Mohammed Abdul Muqit	13	13
			BML (B)			Sheikh Zulfiqar Bulbul Chowdhury	5	5
	BNM					Abdur Rahman	49
	BSP					Sayed Saifuddin Ahmed	82
	BIF					M.A. Matin	37
	BML					Badruddoza Ahmed Shuja	2
	IFB					Bahadur Shah Mujaddedi	39
	ZP					Mustafa Amir Faisal	218
	IOJ					Abu Hasnat Amini	45
	BKA					Mawlana Ataullah	14
	BKSJL					Kader Siddique	34
	GF					Jakir Hossain	25
	GF					Kamal Hossain	9
	NPP					Sheikh Salauddin Salu	142
	BDNAP					Jobel Rahman Gani	6
	BDB					A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury	14
	BSM					Abdur Razzak Mullah	74
	BNF					M.A. Abul Kalam Azad	55
	BCP					Kazi Rezaul Hossen	116

Candidates

Few terms used in the following table are described as-

• Nomination Withdrawn means candidates withdrew their nomination before or on 17 December.
• Candidacy Invalid means candidates who are declared ineligible to contest by the EC.
• Disqualified means disqualification of eligible candidates due to inappropriate nomination submission.
• Candidacy Withdrawn means candidates who are on the final list or on ballot but won't be contesting or endorsed another candidate.
• Candidacy Cancelled means cancellation of candidacy of the candidates who are on ballot due to breaking election code.
• Didn't Submit Nomination Paper means candidates were nominated by the party but failed to submit their nomination paper on due date.

Surveys and polls

Approval ratings

Seat projections

Foreign observers

On 5 January 2024, at a meeting attended by heads of missions from about 90 countries, Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary, Masud Bin Momen, invited foreign envoys to be part of the international team of observers for its general elections scheduled for 7 January 2024.^[67] A total of 127 observers from various countries, were present for these polls, including members from the European Union, The Commonwealth, the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF), the US-based International Republican Institute (IRI) , National Democratic Institute (NDI) and American Global Strategies (AGS); UK-based Conservative Commonwealth Association and other reputable organizations.^{[68] [69]}

After the vote on 7 January 2024, this election drew mixed reactions among international observers. Representatives of many international team of observers acknowledged that this election was conducted free and fairly and praised the role and efficiency of present Bangladesh Election Commission. Alexander Barton Gray, CEO of American Global Strategies (AGS) said "Considering the overall situation, all the observers present here agree that the 12th National Parliament Election of Bangladesh was held peacefully and with the participation of the common people".^[69] The CEO of the Central Election Commission of Palestine, Hisam M.Y Kuhail, made remarks during a media briefing in Dhaka. "The voting process in all the centers that we visited was very quiet and peaceful," Kuhail said. "The people of your country should be proud of holding such a peaceful election." When asked about the voter turnout, Kuhail avoided the question, stating, "We are here to judge the voting process, whether voters were allowed access to the polls or whether voting took place systematically.^[70]

The governments of the United States of America and Canada had separately confirmed, through official statements, that they did not deploy any election observers with their authority to monitor Bangladesh's national elections held on January 7. Despite that, a group of international observers were present at their own effort.^[71] However, some USA , UK based international team of observers expressed the views that this election was not free or fair.^[72][73] Local media in Bangladesh reported that the Hasina government lined up their supporters near polling stations when cameras and foreign election observers were near and had them disperse immediately afterwards.^[9] However, some election observers did report a peaceful environment at the polling stations on the day of the elections.^[74]

Violence

Election Commission Secretary Jahangir Alam has told that Mostafizur Rahman Chowdhury's candidacy has been cancelled for violating election norms and for threatening "law enforcement officials" just before polling officially closed. He was charged for these types of allegations in past too.^[75]

Results

Party		Seats
		General	Reserved	Total
	Awami League	224	47	271
	Jatiya Party (Ershad)	11	2	13
	Bangladesh Kalyan Party	1	0	1
	Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal	1	0	1
	Workers Party of Bangladesh	1	0	1
	Ganatantri Party	0	1	1
	Others	0	0	0
	Independents	62	0	62
Total		300	50	350
Source: Daily Star, BD News 24, Daily Star

Division-wise

Rangpur Division

2024 Bangladesh general election (12th Jatiya Sangsad) : Rangpur Division

Party		Seats			Votes
		Contested	Won	+/–	In total			Average
						%	+/–pp
	Bangladesh Awami League	24	22	3	2,853,161	53.20		118,882
	Jatiya Party (Ershad)	30	3	4	689,037	12.85		22,968
	Workers Party of Bangladesh	4	0	0	65,775	1.23		16,444
	Zaker Party	2	0	0	61,638	1.15		30,819
	Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Inu)	8	0	0	14,189	0.26		1,773
	Bangladesh Nationalist Movement	4	0		13,980	0.26		3,495
	National People's Party (Shalu)	19	0	0	9,762	0.18		514
	Trinomool Bangladesh National Party	9	0		8,736	0.16		971
	Islami Oikya Jote	2	0	0	7,847	0.15		3,924
	Bangladesh Supreme Party	5	0		6,683	0.12		1,337
	Bangladesh Congress	11	0		5,319	0.10		484
	Bangladesh Kallyan Party (Ibrahim)	4	0	0	3,641	0.07		910
	Bangladesh Nationalist Front	5	0	0	3,360	0.06		840
	Krishak Sramik Janata League	5	0	0	1,481	0.03		296
	Ganatantri Party	1	0	0	1,193	0.02		1,193
	Bangladesh Tarikat Federation	1	0	0	1,079	0.02		1,079
	Bangladesh Shangskritik Muktijote (Muktijote)	2	0		863	0.02		432
	Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh	2	0	0	713	0.01		357
	Jatiya Party (Manju)	2	0	0	608	0.01		304
	Bangladesh Islami Front	1	0	0	500	0.01		500
	Bangladesh Muslim League (Bulbul)	1	0	0	376	0.01		376
	Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist–Leninist) (Barua)	1	0	0	291	0.01		291
	Islamic Front Bangladesh	1	0	0	265	0.00		265
	Independent(s)	30	8	8	1,612,536	30.07
Total			33	—	5,363,033	100.00	—	—
Valid votes					5,363,033	97.85
Invalid votes					117,909	2.15
Total votes cast					5,480,942	100.00
Registered voters/Turnout					13,296,954	41.22
Source: BEC

Rajshahi Division

2024 Bangladesh general election (12th Jatiya Sangsad) : Rajshahi Division

Party		Seats			Votes
		Contested	Won	+/–	In total			Average
						%	+/–pp
	Bangladesh Awami League	35	32	1	4,317,852	65.25		123,367
	Jatiya Party (Ershad)	37	1	1	120,198	1.82		3,249
	Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Inu)	18	1	1	54,946	0.83		3,053
	Workers Party of Bangladesh	6	0	1	39,993	0.60		6,666
	Bangladesh Nationalist Movement	15	0		22,201	0.34		1,480
	Bangladesh Congress	14	0		11,974	0.18		855
	Bangladesh Nationalist Front	7	0	0	10,775	0.16		1,539
	National People's Party (Shalu)	16	0	0	9,550	0.14		597
	Trinomool Bangladesh National Party	14	0		9,298	0.14		664
	Islami Oikya Jote	1	0	0	4,105	0.06		4,105
	Zaker Party	1	0	0	2,015	0.03		2,015
	Bangladesh Supreme Party	5	0		1,956	0.03		391
	Bangladesh Shangskritik Muktijote (Muktijote)	4	0		1,779	0.03		445
	Jatiya Party (Manju)	2	0	0	1,540	0.02		770
	Ganatantri Party	2	0	0	1,469	0.02		735
	Krishak Sramik Janata League	2	0	0	959	0.01		480
	Bangladesh Islami Front	1	0	0	754	0.01		754
	Bangladesh Tarikat Federation	3	0	0	728	0.01		243
	Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan	1	0	0	347	0.01		347
	Gano Front	1	0	0	323	0.00		323
	Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh	1	0	0	230	0.00		230
	Independent(s)	32	5	4	2,004,442	30.29
Total			39	—	6,617,434	100.00	—	—
Valid votes					6,617,434	97.63
Invalid votes					160,318	2.37
Total votes cast					6,777,752	100.00
Registered voters/Turnout					15,462,150	43.83
Source: BEC, Dhaka Post, Bangladesh Gazette 18475-18514

Khulna Division

2024 Bangladesh general election (12th Jatiya Sangsad) : Khulna Division

Party		Seats			Votes
		Contested	Won	+/–	In total			Average
						%	+/–pp
	Bangladesh Awami League	34	29	5	4,081,537	65.13		120,045
	Jatiya Party (Ershad)	35	1	1	209,298	3.34		5,980
	Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Inu)	5	0	1	96,178	1.53		19,236
	Bangladesh Nationalist Movement	12	0		48,800	0.78		4,067
	Trinomool Bangladesh National Party	23	0		16,763	0.27		729
	Bangladesh Congress	15	0		15,231	0.24		1,015
	National People's Party (Shalu)	17	0	0	15,104	0.24		888
	Zaker Party	4	0	0	10,252	0.16		2,563
	Islami Oikya Jote	4	0	0	9,236	0.15		2,309
	Workers Party of Bangladesh	5	0	1	8,343	0.13		1,669
	Bangladesh Nationalist Front	4	0	0	3,802	0.06		951
	Bangladesh Shangskritik Muktijote (Muktijote)	7	0		2,329	0.04		333
	Islamic Front Bangladesh	1	0	0	1,398	0.02		1,398
	Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan	1	0	0	1,246	0.02		1,246
	Ganatantri Party	1	0	0	845	0.01		845
	Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist–Leninist) (Barua)	1	0	0	778	0.01		778
	Gano Front	1	0	0	582	0.01		582
	Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh	1	0	0	555	0.01		555
	Bangladesh Supreme Party	2	0		538	0.01		269
	Bangladesh Tarikat Federation	2	0	0	528	0.01		264
	Jatiya Party (Manju)	1	0	0	515	0.01		515
	Bangladesh Kallyan Party (Ibrahim)	1	0	0	296	0.00		296
	Bangladesh National Awami Party (Muzaffar)	1	0	0	242	0.00		242
	Independent(s)	33	6	6	1,742,354	27.80
Total			36	—	6,266,750	100.00	—	—
Valid votes					6,266,750	97.13
Invalid votes					185,121	2.87
Total votes cast					6,451,871	100.00
Registered voters/Turnout					13,446,783	47.98
Source: BEC

Barishal Division

2024 Bangladesh general election (12th Jatiya Sangsad) : Barishal Division

Party		Seats			Votes
		Contested	Won	+/–	In total			Average
						%	+/–pp
	Bangladesh Awami League	15	14	4	1,893,530	59.05		126,235
	Jatiya Party (Ershad)	18	2	0	179,314	5.59		9,962
	Workers Party of Bangladesh	3	1	1	134,073	4.18		44,691
	Jatiya Party (Manju)	2	0	1	73,872	2.30		36,936
	Bangladesh Congress	10	0		34,034	1.06		3,403
	National People's Party (Shalu)	11	0	0	11,146	0.35		1,013
	Trinomool Bangladesh National Party	9	0		7,510	0.23		729
	Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Inu)	4	0	0	4,569	0.14		1,142
	Bangladesh Tarikat Federation	6	0	0	3,857	0.12		643
	Bangladesh Shangskritik Muktijote (Muktijote)	6	0	0	2,894	0.09		482
	Bangladesh Nationalist Front	2	0	0	2,350	0.07		1,175
	Bangladesh Nationalist Movement	2	0		2,017	0.06		1,009
	Zaker Party	1	0	0	1,624	0.05		1,624
	Krishak Sramik Janata League	1	0	0	1,421	0.04		1,421
	Bangladesh Supreme Party	3	0		990	0.03		330
	Gano Front	1	0	0	518	0.02		518
	Bangladesh Kallyan Party (Ibrahim)	1	0	0	195	0.01		195
	Independent(s)	15	4	4	852,695	26.59
Total			21	—	3,206,609	100.00	—	—
Valid votes					3,206,609	98.61
Invalid votes					45,044	1.39
Total votes cast					3,251,653	100.00
Registered voters/Turnout					7,423,300	43.80
Source: BEC

Constituency-wise