Political Unrest and Democracy in Bangladesh

Abstract

Two focal demands dominated the 22-month confrontation, bitter impasse, widespread anti-government rioting, and for a period of time, strident non-cooperation movement during 1994-96 in Bangladesh. They were: (1) the resignation of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, and (2) her replacement by a nonpartisan caretaker government to supervise new elections and transfer of power to newly elected leaders. Both demands originated with the Awami League's (AL) allegations that the governing Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had blatantly rigged a by-election in the district of Magura and that the AL could not hope for free and fair voting under a BNP-led government. But Khaleda refused to yield to what she perceived as unconstitutional opposition pressure and stayed to the end of her term despite the opposition's boycott of Parliament. The government held a general election in the middle of violent political unrest on February 15, 1996, without any nonpolitical interim executive to supervise it. The protest intensified drastically after the election, which the BNP won easily-with all major opposition parties boycotting the polls-and Khaleda was inaugurated as the prime minister for a second term. But as the protests reached a climax, she acceded to opposition demands, and the 13th constitutional amendment establishing a caretaker government to supervise future elections was hurriedly approved by the newly elected Parliament to facilitate her resignation. Once the constitutional provision was in place, the Parliament elected in February was dissolved and Khaleda stepped down in March. A nonpolitical caretaker executive headed by former Chief Justice Habibur Rahman assumed authority under the amended Constitution, the second interregnum in five years entrusted with the supervision of an election and trans-