At stake in this election:

• 300 seats in the National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Shahabuddin AHMED
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed
• Assembly: Bangladesh has a unicameral National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad) with 330 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by parliament to serve a 5-year term.
• In the National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad) 300 members are elected by simple majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.***

*** The provision reserving 30 seats for women expired on July 13, 2001.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
  • Leader: Begum Khaleda ZIA
  • Seats won in this election: 193
  • Seats won in last election: 113
• Party: Awami League (AL)
  • Leader: Sheikh HASINA Wajed
  • Seats won in this election: 62
  • Seats won in last election: 176
• Party: Bangladesh Islamic Assembly / Jamaat-E-Islami (JI)
  • Leader: Golam AZAM
  • Seats won in this election: 17
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• Party: National Party / Jatiyo Party (JP)
  • Leader: Mohammed ERSHAD
  • Seats won in this election: 14
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• Party: Other Parties
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this election: 14
  • Seats won in last election: N/A

Last Parliamentary election:

• Parliamentary elections were last held on June 12, 1996.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 129,194,224 (July 2000 est.)
• Registered Voters: 74,946,364 (October 2001 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 65,512,661 (2001)

·         Is Bangladesh a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Bangladesh ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (6 November 1984)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 6 (as of 2001 election)

·         Human Development Index Position: 142 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Bangladesh a signatory to CRPD: Yes (9 May 2007)

·         Has Bangladesh ratified CRPD: Yes (30 November 2007)

·         Population with a disability: 19,379,133 (est.)