Submitted by 1801019_Tamzid Alam Raian

Khulna University of
Engineering and Technology
Course No: Hum 2101
Course Title: Sociology and Government
Topic: Government and Politics of Bangladesh
Department of Civil Engineering

Submitted To:
Submitted To: Submitted By:

Biplob Rahman Name: Tamzid Alam Raian

Associate Professor, Education, Roll: 1801019

Govt. Teachers’ Training College, Year: 2nd, Term: 1st

Khulna Department of Civil Engineering,

Khulna University of Engineering
and Technology
Submitted by 1801019_Tamzid Alam Raian

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF BANGLADESH

GOVERNMENT
A government is the system to govern a state or community.

The word government derives, ultimately, from the Greek verb κυβερνάω [kubernáo] (meaning
to steer with gubernaculum (rudder), the metaphorical sense being attested in Plato's “Ship of
State”).

The Columbia Encyclopedia defines government as "a system of social control under which the
right to make laws, and the right to enforce them, is vested in a particular group in society".

GOVERNMENT OF BANGLADESH

STRUCTURE
According to the constitution of Bangladesh, formulated in 1972, the government of Bangladesh
will be a parliamentary form of government under a prime minister and a president elected by a
national assembly. The state policy rests on four basic principles of nationalism, secularism,
socialism, and democracy.

The government has three main branches:

1. Legislative Branch
2. Executive Branch
3. Judiciary Branch

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The legislative branch is known as “The Jatiya Sangshad”. It is a parliamentary body. The
primary features are a strong executive prime minister, a largely ceremonial presidency, an
independent judiciary, and a unicameral legislature on a modified Westminster model.

The parliamentary body consists of 300 members elected from 300 parliamentary zones by direct
voting of the citizens in the “National Election”. There are 50 reserved seats for women in
addition to these 300 seats, resulting in a total of 350 parliamentary members. The parliamentary
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members appoint the Prime Minister, the President and the Speaker. The Prime Minister forms
their cabinet from the members of the parliament.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The executive or administrative branch oversees the running of the state and the government.
The head of the state is the President, who appoints the Prime Minister as the head of the
government. The Prime Minister in turn appoints the Ministers who shall serve on the cabinet
and lead the different Ministries of the government. The appointment of government officials
occurs through competitive exams, primarily the Bangladesh Civil Service Exam (B.C.S. Exam),
under the supervision of the Public Service Commission (P.S.C.).

This is the basic overview of the central government. The local government, namely the Union
Parishads, the Upazila and the District Administrations, the Municipalities and the City
Corporations have a certain degree of autonomy.

JUDICIARY BRANCH

The Supreme Court, the apex court of the country consists of two divisions i.e. the Appellate
Division and the High Court Division.

The Chief Justice of Bangladesh and other judges in each division constitute the Supreme Court.
Chief justice and other judges are independent in the exercise of their judicial functions subject
to the provisions of the Constitution. The Chief Justice and other judges are appointed by the
President in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister. Judges of the Supreme Court are
appointed from amongst the advocates of the Supreme Court and judicial officers. Judges
appointed in the Appellate Division sit in that division with the Chief Justice, and the judges
appointed in the High Court Division sit in that division.

High court division has power of judicial review. On the application of any aggrieved person
high court division may give such directions or orders to any person or authority including a
person performing any function in connection with the affairs of the Republic for the
enforcement of any of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution. In enforcing the
fundamental rights, high court division is empowered to declare any law inconsistent with the
fundamental right or any other part of the Constitution void to the extent of inconsistency.

In the Subordinate civil judiciary, there are five classes of subordinate civil courts i.e. the courts
of assistant judges, senior assistant judges, joint district judges, additional district judges and
district judges.
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT

There are 8 divisions and 64 districts in Bangladesh, each district further subdivided into upazila
(lit. sub districts). The area within each sub district, except for those in metropolitan areas, is
divided into several unions, with each union consisting of multiple villages. Direct elections are
held for each union (or ward), electing a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a
parliamentary act was passed to reserve three seats (out of 12) in every union for female
candidates. Following elections in the 2014–16 period, 25.2% (14,763/ 58,543) of councilors
were women, up from 23.4% in the 2011–13 period.

In Bangladesh the rural and regional local government have four tiers:

 Divisional administration
 District administration
 Sub-district administration
 Rural, Municipal and City administration

DIVISIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Divisional Commissioner is the administrative head of a division. Divisional Commissioner is

appointed by the government from a senior secretary of B.C.S. Administration Cadre. The role of
a Divisional Commissioner's office is to act as the supervisory head of all the government
Offices (except the central government offices) situated in the division. A Divisional
Commissioner are given the direct responsibility of supervising the revenue and development
administration of a division. The Divisional Commissioner is assisted by the several Additional
Divisional Commissioners, Assistant Divisional Commissioners and other bureaucratic officials.

DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION

District Council (or Zila Parishad) is a local government body at the district level. The Bengali
word parishad means council and zila parishad translates to district council. The Deputy
Commissioner (popularly abbreviated to "DC") is the executive head of the district. Deputy
Commissioner is appointed by the government from a Joint secretary of B.C.S. Administration
Cadre. But Zila Parishad has a different setup from the DC office. Currently, the Chairman of
each District Council is an appointee from the Central Government. An officer ranked Deputy
Secretary works as the CEO of the council. The District Council, being as a highest tier of the
Local Government, is supposed to be an autonomous and the supreme body to look after the
overall development activities in district level. But in practice, it is merely a setup confined with
few charitable works.
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SUB-DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION

Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO, or Upazila Executive Officer is a non-elected administrator in

Upazila. UNOs are Senior Assistant Secretary of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS). They act as
executive officer of the upazila under the elected posts. Each Upazila Parishad (or council) has a
chairman, a vice-chairman and a woman vice-chairman. All three are elected through direct
popular election. Union Parishad chairman within the upazila are considered as the members of
the parishad. The post of a woman vice-chairman was created to ensure at least one-third woman
representation in the all elected posts of the local government. On 22 January 2010 the first
election in 18 years of Upazila Parishad was held. One-third of the seats in the Upazila Parishad
are reserved for women.

RURAL, MUNICIPAL AND CITY ADMINISTRATION

Union Councils (or Union Parishads or Unions) are the smallest rural administrative and local
government units in Bangladesh. Each Union is made up of nine Wards. Usually one village is
designated as a Ward. There are 4,573 Unions in Bangladesh. A Union Council consists of a
chairman and twelve members including three members exclusively reserved for women. Union
Parishads are formed under the Local Government (Union Parishads) Act, 2009. The boundary
of each Union is demarcated by the Deputy Commissioner of the District. A Union Council is
the body primarily responsible for agricultural, industrial and community development within the
local limits of the union. Under the legislation, 25% of union parishad seats are reserved for
women.

In Bangladesh, Municipal Councils or Town Municipalities or Paurasabha or Municipality is an

urban local body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more than. The members of the
Paurasabha are elected representatives for a term of five years. The town is divided into wards
according to its population, and representatives are elected from each ward. The Paurasabha
members are known as Councilors. The number of wards in a municipal area is determined by
the population of the Town. The Mayor is the executive head of the Municipal Councils are
elected for a span of five years.

The cities with a city corporation, having mayoral elections, include Dhaka South, Dhaka North,
Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Barisal, Rangpur, Comilla, Mymensingh and Gazipur.
Other major cities, these and other municipalities electing a chairperson, include Mymensingh,
Gopalganj, Jessore, Bogra, Dinajpur, Joypurhat, Narayanganj and Rangamati. Both the
municipal heads are elected for a span of five years. Due to rapid growth of towns and cities, in
sub-urban area the Union Parishad is frequently replaced by the Municipal Corporations
(Pourashava) and City Corporations.
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POLITICS
The English politics has its roots in the name of Aristotle's classic work, Politiká, which
introduced the Greek term politiká (Πολιτικά, 'affairs of the cities'). In the mid-15th century,
Aristotle's composition would be rendered in Early Modern English as Polettiques [sic],[a][10]
which would become Politics in Modern English.

The singular politic first attested in English in 1430, coming from Middle French politique—
itself taking from politicus,[11] a Latinization of the Greek πολιτικός (politikos) from πολίτης
(polites, 'citizen') and πόλις (polis, 'city').[12]

Modern Definitions

 In the view of Harold Lasswell, politics is "who gets what, when, how."[13]

 For David Easton, it is about "the authoritative allocation of values for a society."[14] To
Vladimir Lenin, "politics is the most concentrated expression of economics."[15]

 Bernard Crick argued that "politics is a distinctive form of rule whereby people act
together through institutionalized procedures to resolve differences, to conciliate diverse
interests and values and to make public policies in the pursuit of common purposes."

 According to Adrian Leftwich:

Politics comprises all the activities of co-operation, negotiation and conflict within and
between societies, whereby people go about organizing the use, production or distribution
of human, natural and other resources in the course of the production and reproduction of
their biological and social life.

POLITICS OF BANGLADESH
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

After the British conquest of Bengal in 23 June 1757 and the over throwing and execution of
Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah, considered as the last independent ruler of the region before regaining
independence 200 years later, the Bengal Presidency was divided in British India in the year
1947, as East Bengal and West Bengal mainly on religious grounds.
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East Bengal allied itself with the newly formed Muslim state of Pakistan and became known as
East Pakistan. However the relations between West Pakistan and East Pakistan were politically
strained due to various issues of inequality, language, culture and a large distance of over 2000
kilometers between the two states separated by the foreign lands of India. The central power
remained confined in West Pakistan, thus demand for total independent rule of East Pakistan
begun. Following the Six point movement in 1966 led by Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, the East Pakistan independence movement gained momentum.

On 5 December 1969 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman stated after independence East Pakistan will be
renamed Bangladesh. The situation escalated after the 1970 elections and the 7 March 1971
speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. After a brutal Pakistani army crackdown on the local people
of Bangladesh on 25 March 1971 carried out under orders of Pakistan President Yahya Khan,
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Chief of Awami League and the leader of the liberation movement
declared independence on 26 March 1971, which was broadcast from Chittagong radio station on
27 March, first by the then Awami League Secretary of Chittagong Mr. Abdul Hannan and other
Awami League leaders and then by Major Ziaur Rahman on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
in the evening of 27 March, thus starting the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Captain Rafiq BU Commanding Officer of Chittagong East Pakistan Rifles revolted first and
subsequently other commanding officers at different places: Major Shafiullah, Major Khaled
Musharraf and Major Ziaur Rahman revolted with their forces. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was
arrested by the Pakistan Army in early hours of 26 March, immediately after he declared
independence and was taken to West Pakistan, where he remained in jail until early January
1972.

Bangladesh's first government formed on 10 April 1971 and took the oath of office in Meherpur,
Kushtia on 17 April 1971. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected as the first President of the
Provisional Government of Bangladesh, Syed Nazrul Islam was elected as the Vice President,
and Tajuddin Ahmed was elected as the first Prime Minister. Other major cabinet members were
Mr. Kamruzzaman, Mr. Mansour Ali and Khodokar Mustaq Ahmed, all senior Awami League
leaders. As this government was formed during the war of independence from Pakistan, its
significance holds a distinction. Its temporary headquarters had been set up at 8 Theatre Road in
Calcutta, India.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by virtue of his position as the President of Bangladesh became the
Supreme Commander of the Liberation Army, while Colonel M.A.G. Osmani was appointed by
the provisional government as the Commander-in- Chief of the liberation army. Subsequently,
the provisional government formed its secretariat and designated top bureaucrats as chiefs of the
divisions of the Secretariat.
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The Provisional Government later divided Bangladesh into eleven Sectors for conducting war
efficiently and in an organized manner. This Government became the first legal political entity
on behalf of the fighting people of Bangladesh and represented the people in the international
arena. Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed started intergovernmental dialogue with the Indian
Government immediately after the formation of the Provisional Government. Bangladesh
achieved victory in the liberation war on 16 December 1971.

POLITICAL PARTIES AND DYNASTIES

The three major parties in Bangladesh are the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and
Bangladesh Awami League and Jatiya Party. BNP finds its allies among some Islamist parties
like Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh while the Awami League aligns itself traditionally with leftist
and secularist parties such as Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal. Another important player is the Jatiya
Party, headed by former military ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad and his wife Rowshan
Ershad. The Awami League-BNP rivalry has been bitter and punctuated by protests, violence
and murder. Student politics is particularly strong in Bangladesh, a legacy from the liberation
movement era. Almost all parties have highly active student wings, and students have been
elected to the Parliament.

Political dynasties have long been a feature of the Bangladesh political landscape since the
country's independence in 1971. They are typically characterized as families that have
established their political or economic dominance in a party, in national government or other
positions of national political prominence. Members of such dynasties usually do not limit their
involvement to strictly political activities, and have been found participating in business or
culture-related activities.

The idea of inherited wealth and connections discouraging future generations to work hard can
also be attributed to dynastic politicians. Dynastic politicians have a significant advantage from
the start of their political career They have a statistically higher probability, due to factors like
popularity and incumbency advantage, to win elections when pitted against politicians with no
such political networks. Dynastic politicians also have generally lower educational attainment,
because of their reliance on dynastic connections rather than bureaucratic or academic
competence for their position.

Dynastic candidates, being almost exclusively from the upper classes, are naturally biased
towards defending their own vested economic interests, which presents conflict of interest
problems. Political dynasties also prevent challengers with potentially effective policy ideas from
being able to take office, which limits the capacity for bureaucratic responsiveness and
administrative effectiveness and adaptation to new ideas.
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The Bangladeshi politics have been dominated by the bitter rivalry between two Families, Ziaur
Rahman's widow, Khaleda Zia, led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party since 1981 for almost 40
years, against the Bangladesh Awami League, led since 1981 by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's
daughter Sheikh Hasina. Popularly known as the "Battling Begums"; The two women have
inherited their party identifications from their family members and have ruled Bangladesh as
prime ministers since 1991.

POLITICAL TIMELINE
 FIRST PARLIAMENTARY ERA
 1972-1975: SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN
The first parliamentary elections held under the 1972 constitution were in March 1973,
with the Awami League winning a massive majority, winning a historic 293 out of a total
of 300 seats. No other political party in Bangladesh's early years was able to duplicate or
challenge the League's broad-based appeal, membership, or organizational strength.
Bangabandhu and his cabinet having no experience in governance nor administration,
relied heavily on experienced civil servants and political factions of the Awami League,
the new Bangladesh Government focused on relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of
the economy and society. Bangabandhu nationalized the entire economy, banking and
industrial sector. Economic conditions took a serious downturn. On top of that heavy
corruption among his own party members, factions and senior leadership also added to
the devastation and famine.
Despite promises, no sign of improvement in the economic situation surfaced.
Implementation of promised political reforms was almost nil, and criticism of
government policies became increasingly centered on Bangabandhu. Serious
disorientation in the armed services, disenchantment in society, deterioration of law and
order created a huge mistrust of Bangabandhu and his government including the Awami
League itself. The then chief of army staff K M Shafiullah and chief of air staff A.K.
Khandker stood stunned and idle during this situation. On 15 August 1975,
Bangabandhu, and most of his family, were assassinated by a small group of mid-level
army officers. Bangabandhu's daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, happened to
be out of the country. A new government, headed by former Bangabandhu associate
Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, was formed.

 MILITARY REGIME
 AUGUST-NOVEMBER 1975
Bangabandhu's senior cabinet minister Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad formed a new
government and immediately initiated a few critical changes in Bangabandhu's policies
and rules of business in government. The notorious Jail Killings happened during this
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period, amidst the confusion in which Bangladesh was plunged on 3 November. On the
same day, Brig General Khaled Mosharraf launched his own coup fundamentally as a
move to restore the chain of command broken in the army Musharraf moved swiftly to
remove Moshtaque Ahmad from office. In 7 November Khaled Musharaf was killed in a
counter coup engineered by Colonel Abu Taher.
 1975-1981: ZIAUR RAHMAN
Following Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad's removal and assassination of Brigadier General
Khaled Musharaf by a segment of army personnel in 1975, a very short lived revolution
resulted in the emergence of arrested deputy Army Chief of Staff Major General Ziaur
Rahman ("Zia"), who managed to take the lead and bring the whole nation out of a
political quagmire. His first action was to communicate to the people through radio and
television and bring order and calm to the nation. He pledged full support to the civilian
government headed by President Chief Justice Sayem. Acting at Zia's behest, Sayem
dissolved Parliament, and instituted state of emergency under martial law. Zia brought an
end to the turbulence within the army. In 1976 Colonel Abu Taher was tried for treason
and executed. Fresh elections were to be in 1977 under a multi party democracy with full
freedom of the press.
In May 1981, Zia was assassinated in Chittagong by dissident elements of the military.
There was no coup or uprising attempted, and the major conspirators were never taken
into custody or killed.
 1982-1990: HUSSAIN MOHAMMED ERSHAD
Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Hussain Mohammed Ershad assumed power in by a full-
fledged but bloodless coup on 24 March 1982. He removed the country's democratically
elected president and suspended the constitution and declared martial law. He cited
pervasive corruption, ineffectual government, and economic mismanagement for
legitimizing his action. The following year, Ershad assumed the presidency on 11
December 1983, retaining his positions as army chief and CMLA, first time in
Bangladesh.
Ershad resigned as Army Chief of Staff and retired from military service in preparation
for the presidential elections, scheduled for October 1986. Protesting that martial law was
still in effect, both the BNP refused to put up opposing candidates. The Awami League
participated by breaking their open public promise. Ershad easily outdistanced the
remaining candidates, taking 84% of the vote. Although Ershad's government claimed a
turnout of more than 50%, opposition leaders of BNP, and much of the foreign press,
estimated a far lower percentage and alleged voting irregularities.
By 1989, the domestic political situation in the country seemed to have quieted. The local
council elections were generally considered by international observers to have been less
violent and more free and fair than previous elections. However, opposition to Ershad's
rule began to regain momentum, escalating by the end of 1990 in frequent general strikes,
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increased student's campus protests, public rallies, and a general disintegration of law and
order. This was popularly termed the 1990 Mass Uprising in Bangladesh.
On 6 December 1990, after 2 months of widespread civil unrest, Ershad offered his
resignation. On 27 February 1991, an interim government oversaw what most observers
widely believed to be the nation's most free and fair elections to date.

 CURRENT PARLIAMENTARY ERA

 1991-1996: KHALEDA ZIA
The center-right BNP won a plurality of seats in the 1991 Bangladesh General Election
and formed a coalition government with the Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh,
with Khaleda Zia, widow of Ziaur Rahman, obtaining the post of Prime Minister. Only
four parties had more than 10 members elected to the 1991 Parliament: The Bangladesh
Nationalist Party, led by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia; the Awami League, led by Sheikh
Hasina; the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), led by Golam Azam; and the Jatiya Party (JP), led by
acting chairman Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury while its founder, former President
Ershad, served out a prison sentence on corruption charges. The electorate approved still
more changes to the constitution, formally re-creating a parliamentary system and
returning governing power to the office of the prime minister, as in Bangladesh's original
1972 constitution. In October 1991, members of Parliament elected a new head of state,
President Abdur Rahman Biswas.
 1996-2001: SHEIKH HASINA
Sheikh Hasina formed what she called a "Government of National Consensus" in June
1996, which included one minister from the Jatiya Party and another from the Jatiyo
Samajtantrik Dal, a very small leftist party. The Jatiya Party never entered into a formal
coalition arrangement, and party president H.M. Ershad withdrew his support from the
government in September 1997. Only three parties had more than 10 members elected to
the 1996 Parliament: The Awami League, BNP, and Jatiya Party. Jatiya Party president,
Ershad, was released from prison on bail in January 1997.
BNP staged a walkout from parliament in August 1997. The BNP returned to Parliament
under another agreement in March 1998. In June 1999, the BNP and other opposition
parties again began to abstain from attending Parliament. Opposition parties have staged
an increasing number of nationwide general strikes, rising from 6 days of general strikes
in 1997 to 27 days in 1999. A four-party opposition alliance formed at the beginning of
1999 announced that it would boycott parliamentary by-elections and local government
elections unless the government took steps demanded by the opposition to ensure
electoral fairness.
 2001-2006: KHALEDA ZIA
A Khaleda-led four-party alliance won two-thirds of total parliamentary seats with a total
193 seats, while Awami League won 62 seats. Thus Khaleda Zia won a second term as
Prime Minister in 2001. Her coalition included several Islamist parties. The Awami
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League walked out from the Parliament in June 2003 to protest derogatory remarks about
Sheikh Hasina by a State Minister and the allegedly partisan role of the Parliamentary
Speaker. Throughout the year 2004 the opposition party Awami League carried out
various processions pressing various demands and claiming government incompetence on
various issues. In June 2004, the Awami League returned to Parliament without having
any of their demands met.
On 21 August 2004 a group of terrorists conducted vicious grenade attacks on a rally held
by the opposition party Awami League including leader Sheikh Hasina. Prominent
leaders including Ivy Rahman were killed in the attack, and Hasina herself sustained
injuries to her ears. A total of 13 grenades were blasted and 24 people killed. The Awami
League called for a nationwide hartal (general strikes) on 23 and 24 August 2004
following the incident. Begum Khaleda Zia, then Prime Minister of Bangladesh
condemned the attacks, and also vowed a strong probe to catch the culprits. But they
provided misleading information. Only after the current government tenure ended a
neutral probe formed and revealed that Tarique Rahman son of Prime Minister Khaleda
Zia along with the then Home Minister Lutfuzzaman Babar had masterminded the attack.
[34]
But BNP has denied the allegations.
 2006-2008: CARETAKER GOVERNMENT
Following the end of Khaleda Zia's government in late October 2006, there were protests
and strikes over uncertainty about who would head the caretaker government (which was
accused of BNP bias), held by Awami League, paralyzing the country and resulting in the
death of at least 40 people in the following month in November 2006.[36] An election was
scheduled for the beginning of 2007, however it did not take place.
In January 2007, Iajuddin Ahmed stepped down as the head of the caretaker government,
under pressure from the military.[38] Fakhruddin Ahmed, former World Bank economist,
was selected to replace him and with the commitment to rooting out corruption and
preparing a better voter list. Fakhruddin Ahmed became the Chief Advisor. A State of
Emergency was declared and a massive campaign to crack down on corruption was
undertaken. By July 2007 some 200,000 people had been arrested under corruption
charges. The government said it would hold elections before the end of 2008.
 2009-PRESENT: SHEIKH HASINA
The Awami League came to power by winning the vast majority of parliament seats in
the election held on 29 December 2008, and Sheikh Hasina became the Prime Minister of
Bangladesh for the second time. Her cabinet took oath on 6 January 2009. HM Ershad
was promised to be made President in exchange for support for Awami League, but
despite supporting Awami League, this promise was not fulfilled and Zillur Rahman
became president. The first two years under this government was peaceful, This period
also observed tremendous economic growth.
Controversy erupted in 2011 after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared the abolition of
the care-taker government system, contradicting her own motives and views in the mid-
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1990s when she had demanded that elections should be held under neutral care-taker
governments. Hasina justified this by stating that a neutral care-taker government may
abuse its power (referring to the care-taker government crisis in 2006-2008) and take
unlawful and autocratic control of the country. At the same time, arrests and trials of
members accused of war crimes of the political party Jamaat-e-Islami had begun. This
caused major disagreements among the ruling Awami League with the chief opposition
party BNP and its major ally Jamaat. In a bid to return to the 1972 Constitution, the
government made several reforms to the constitution of Bangladesh in 2011, and
readopted Secularism.
The period 2012-2014 was marked by widespread political unrest and violence in the
form of strikes, riots and acts of vandalism which led to massive property damages,
economic losses and death of many ordinary citizens. Petrol bombs and cocktails were
being used at their peaks for arson attacks. But the ruling party remained committed to
their decision and compared the ongoing protests to acts of terrorism. Both the ruling
party and the opposition received International criticism. Awami League had a landslide
victory, and Sheikh Hasina was sworn in as Prime Minister for the third time on 9
January 2014, while Rowshan Ershad of the Jatiya Party became the new leader of the
opposition, as Khaleda-led BNP boycotted the election.
Most of the post 2014 election period however saw political calm.
On 22 September 2018, in a massive rally, the newly formed coalition party: Jatiya Oikya
Prokriya (JOP), a platform led by Dr. Kamal Hossain and Prof. Badruddoza Chowdhury,
allied themselves with the main opposition party BNP, on condition BNP will no longer
be alliance with Jamaat, and vowed joint movements to restore democracy. The BNP-
JOP alliance was named the Jatiya Oikya Front. The 2018 Bangladeshi general election
was held on 30 December 2018. On the election day at least 14 people died in violence
between the Awami League supporters and the Jatiya Oikya Front supporters.[59] The
Awami League returned to power winning 259 out of 300 parliamentary seats, making up
the largest government body in Bangladesh after 1973 (where Awami League had won
293 out of 300 seats).
Throughout the 2019-2020 period, the dispute between BD and Myanmar over the
unresolved Rohingya Refugee Crisis continued, with Myanmar's unwillingness to take
back the refugees.[65] In October 2020 Myanmar deployed their army troops on the
Bangladesh border. Bangladesh appealed to the UN Security Council to prevent any
escalation. Later Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assured "a safe zone must be created for
the Rohingyas Refugees. If that is done, Myanmar will face a huge problem in the
Rakhine region. I don't think Myanmar will lock in war with Bangladesh; China will not
let that happen." No further escalations have been reported, BD and Myanmar have since
remained in peace militarily, but the diplomatic dispute continues to be debated at the
UN.

Submitted By

1801019

Tamzid Alam Raian