The Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is the Head of
the Government of Bangladesh. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are
collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Parliament,
to their political party and ultimately to the electorate. The current Prime
Minister, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, was elected on December 29, 2008. She and
her cabinet were appointed on 6 January 2009 by the President of Bangladesh.
Appointment of the Prime Minister According to the Constitution the Prime
Minister is appointed by the President based upon the result of the electorates
choice in parliamentary general election held by the Election Commission. The
Prime Minister will be the leader of the majority party in the Jatiya Sangsad and
must have the confidence of the Jatiya Sangsad to govern. The cabinet is
composed of ministers selected by the prime minister and appointed by the
president. At least 90% of the ministers must be MPs. The other 10% may be non-MP
experts or "technocrats" who are not otherwise disqualified from being
elected MPs. According to the constitution, the president can dissolve
Parliament upon the written request of the prime minister.
Duties of the office The office of the Prime Minister is
located at Tejgaon in Dhaka city. It is considered a ministry of the government
and among other duties, provides clerical, security, and other support to
the prime minister, governs intelligence affairs, NGOs, and arranges protocol and
ceremonies. Change of government
In September 1991, the electorate approved changes to the constitution,
formally creating a parliamentary system and returning governing power to the
office of the prime minister, as in Bangladesh's original constitution. In
October 1991, members of parliament elected a new head of state, President
Abdur Rahman Biswas. History
= Khaleda Zia = Khaleda Zia served as Prime Minister of
Bangladesh three times, since 1991. Once in power, Khaleda Zia's government made
substantial changes in education policy, introducing free education for girls up
to the 10th grade, a stipend for female students, and food for education
programme funds. It also made highest budgetary allocation in the education
sector. She became Prime Minister for the second
consecutive term after the BNP had a landslide victory in 15 February 1996
general election to the sixth Jatiya Sangsad which is widely believed to be
rigged voting after buying the election commissioner for 1bdt. The election was,
however, boycotted by all other major parties who were demanding that the
elections be held under a neutral caretaker government, following
allegations of rigging in a by-election held in 1994. Turnout was estimated at
around 5%, though the government at the time claimed it to be much higher. In
the 12 June 1996 polls, BNP lost to Sheikh Hasina's Awami League but emerged
as the largest opposition party in the country's parliamentary history with 116
seats. Aiming to return to power, the BNP
formed a four-party alliance on 6 January 1999 with its former political
foe the Jatiya Party, and the Islamic party of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and
the Islami Oikya Jot and launched several agitation programmes against the
ruling Awami League. In the 2001 general elections BNP won the election with a
two-third majority of seats in parliament and 46% of the vote and
Khaleda Zia was once again sworn in as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
In 2008 election, they faced a landslide defeat. Khaleda led Islamic alliance won
only 32 seats and emerged as the smallest opposition party in the
country's parliamentary history. They only won 32% of the vote where their
main rival AL won 50 percent of the total vote.
In the 2014 election, the BNP along with its 18 party alliance boycotted and
violently protested the election to no avail.
= Sheikh Hasina = Hasina lost to Zia in 1991 parliamentary
elections after managing to win just 88 seats and her party sat in opposition
benches. She boycotted the 1996 February 15 elections giving Khaleda Zia a
default victory. Awami League won 146 seats in the 1996
June 12 parliamentary elections. The support of the Jatiya Party and a few
independent candidates were enough for the 150 or more seats needed for the
required majority. Hasina took the oath as the prime minister of Bangladesh. She
vowed to create a Government of National Unity. Though some smaller parties and a
few individuals from BNP did join the government, the distance between the
main two political parties remained as large as ever.
The Awami League succumbed to a landslide defeat in the 2001 Parliament
elections. It won only 62 seats in the Parliament, while the Four Party
Alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won more than 200
seats, giving them a two-third majority in the Parliament. Hasina herself was
defeated from a constituency in Rangpur, which happened to contain her husband's
hometown, but won from three other seats. Sheikh Hasina and the Awami
League rejected the results, claiming that the election was rigged with the
help of the President and the Caretaker government. However, the international
community was largely satisfied with the elections and the Four Party Alliance
went on to form the government. In December 2008 election, Sheikh
Hasina's party won 230 seats giving them the two-thirds majority in the
parliament. She made an alliance with JP and left fronts and her grand alliance
won 252 seats in the parliament. Sheikh Hasina took oath as Prime Minister on 6
January 2009. She remained as prime minister till now after winning a
walkover 5 January 2014 election when Khaleda Zia's BNP boycotted the general
election. Political crisis
The scheduled 22 January 2007 elections were marred by controversy. The Awami
League and its allies protested, saying that the elections would not be fair
because of alleged bias by the caretaker government in favor of Khaleda Zia and
the BNP. Hasina demanded that the head of the caretaker government, President
Iajuddin Ahmed, step down from that position, and on 3 January 2007, she
announced that the Awami League and its allies would boycott the elections.
Later in the month, the military led by Army Chief General Moinuddin Ahmed
intervened and President Iajuddin Ahmed was asked to resign as the Chief
Advisor. He was also made to declare a state of emergency. A new
military-controlled Caretaker government was formed with Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed as
the Chief Adviser. The scheduled parliamentary election was postponed.
2007 interim caretaker government On 12 January 2007, President Iajuddin
Ahmed swore in Fakhruddin Ahmed as the Chief Adviser to the Interim Caretaker
Government. For a country widely perceived as one of the world's most
corrupt, the most dramatic aspect of Fakhruddin Ahmed's rule is his antigraft
campaign against the establishment. So far, more than 160 senior politicians,
top civil servants and security officials have been arrested on
suspicion of graft and other economic crimes. The roundup has netted former
ministers from the two main political parties, including former prime
ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina and former adviser Fazlul Haque.
List of Prime Ministers See also
Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Caretaker government
Politics of Bangladesh ECNEC
Prime Minister of Bengal References