2014 Bangladeshi general election

2014 Bangladeshi general election
← 2008 5 January 2014 2018 →
300 of the 350 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad
151 seats needed for a majority
Turnout39.58% (Decrease 47.55pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Sheikh Hasina Rowshan Ershad
Party AL JP(E)
Last election 48.04%, 230 seats 7.04%, 27 seats
Seats won 234 34
Seat change Increase 4 Increase 7
Popular vote 12,357,374 1,199,727
Percentage 72.14% 7.00%
Swing Increase 24.10pp Decrease 0.04pp
Results by constituency
Prime minister before election

Sheikh Hasina
AL

Subsequent prime minister

Sheikh Hasina
AL

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General elections were held in Bangladesh on 5 January 2014, in accordance with the constitutional requirement that elections must take place within the 90-day period before the expiration of the term of the Jatiya Sangshad on 24 January 2014.

The elections were not free and fair.[1] They were preceded by a government crackdown on the opposition, with Bangladesh Nationalist Party and opposition leader Khaleda Zia put under house arrest.[2] There were widespread arrests of other opposition members, violence and strikes by the opposition, attacks on religious minorities, and extrajudicial killings by the government,[3] with around 21 people killed on election day.[4] Almost all major opposition parties boycotted the elections, resulting in 153 of the 300 directly elected seats being uncontested and the incumbent Awami League-led Grand Alliance of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina winning a landslide majority. Hasina became the first prime minister in the history of Bangladesh to be re-elected to serve a second term.

The elections were criticized by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and the United Nations.[5] 176 global leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joseph Stiglitz, issued a letter that claimed the election "lacked legitimacy".[6][7]

  1. ^ Riaz, Ali (21 September 2020). "The pathway of democratic backsliding in Bangladesh". Democratization. 28: 179–197. doi:10.1080/13510347.2020.1818069. ISSN 1351-0347. S2CID 224958514.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference HouseArrest was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference HRW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference aljaz2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Chowdhury, Syed Tashfin (7 January 2014). "Violent Bangladesh poll 'not credible'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Over 100 Nobel laureates call on PM to suspend judicial proceedings against Prof Yunus". The Business Standard. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  7. ^ Nazzaro, Miranda (31 August 2023). "Obama, world leaders call on Bangladesh to halt cases against Nobel Peace Prize winner". The Hill. Retrieved 1 September 2023.