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Bangladesh Government |
Country Name:
Conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
Conventional short form: Bangladesh
Former: East Pakistan |
| Government Type: Parliamentary
Democracy |
| Capital: Dhaka |
| Administration Division: 5
Divisions (Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet,
Barishal). |
|
Independence: 16 December 1971 (from
West Pakistan);
Note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West
Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and
commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
|
Constitution: 4 November 1972,
effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March
1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times. |
| Legal System: Based on English
common law |
| Suffrage: 18 years of age; Universal |
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Executive Branch:
Chief of state: President Iajuddin
Ahmed (since 6 September 2002); note - The President's
duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to
the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"),
the president's role becomes significant at times when
Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed
- at presidential direction - to supervise the elections.
Head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda
ZIA (since 10 October 2001).
Foreign minister: Morshed Khan
Finance minister: Mohammad Rahman
Defence minister: Khaleda Zia
Interior minister: Altaf Hossain
Chowdhury
Disaster management and relief minister:
Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf
Cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime
minister and appointed by the President.
Elections: President elected by
National Parliament for a five-year term; election scheduled for
16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin Ahmed was the only
presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002
(next election to be held by NA 2007); following legislative
elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is
usually appointed Prime Minister by the President. |
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Legislative Branch: Unicameral National
Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote
from single territorial constituencies (the constitutional
amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above the 300
regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); Members serve
five-year terms
Elections: Last held 1 October 2001
(next to be held before October 2006).
Election Results: Percent of vote
by party - BNP and Alliance Partners 46%, AL 42%; seats by party
- BNP 201, AL 62, JI 18, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Naziur)
1, other 4;
Note - the election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP
government aligned with three other smaller parties -
Jamaat-i-Islami, Islami Oikya Jote, and Jatiya Party (Naziur) |
| Judicial Branch: Supreme Court
(The chief justices and other judges are appointed by the President) |
Political Parties And Leaders
:
Awami League - Sheikh Hasina];
Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]
Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA, Chairperson];
Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI];
Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI];
Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD];
Jatiya Party (Manzur Faction) [[Naziur Rahman MANZUR] |
| International Organization
Participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC,
NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
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