Misplaced Pages

1973 Bangladeshi general election

← 1970 7 March 1973 (1973-03-07) 1979 →
300 of the 315 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad 151 seats needed for a majority
Registered	35,205,642
Turnout	54.91%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Serajul Alam Khan Ataur Rahman Khan Party AL JSD BJL Last election 288 seats – 0 seats Seats won 293 1 1 Seat change 5 New 1 Popular vote 13,798,717 1,229,110 62,354 Percentage 73.20% 6.52% 0.33%
Prime Minister before election Sheikh Mujibur Rahman AL Subsequent Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman AL

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Bangladesh
Constitution Amendments Law of Bangladesh Bangladesh Code Penal Code Human rights Article 70 Judicial review
Government President: Mohammed Shahabuddin Chief Adviser: Muhammad Yunus Cabinet: Yunus (interim) Taxation Agencies Civil Service Local governments
Parliament Speaker: Vacant Leader of the House: Vacant Leader of the Opposition: Vacant
Judiciary Supreme Court: Appellate Division High Court Division District courts Metropolitan courts Chief Justice: Syed Refaat Ahmed Attorney General: AM Amin Uddin Bangladesh Bar Council
Administrative divisions Divisions Districts Subdistricts Local Councils
Elections Parliamentary constituencies Election commission General: 2024 next Presidential: 2018 2023 Political parties
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister Diplomatic missions of / in Bangladesh Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy Foreign relations Bangladeshi diaspora
Bangladesh portal Other countries
v t e

General elections were held in newly independent Bangladesh on 7 March 1973. A total of 1,078 candidates and 14 political parties contested the elections.

Though the Awami League was already the clear favourite before the elections, the government led by its leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman made a major effort to winning every seat. This led to an unnecessarily rigged election in which the Awami League won 293 of the 300 directly elected seats including eleven constituencies where they were elected unopposed without a vote. Voter turnout was 55%.

The result saw a near-complete obliteration of the opposition, with most of the leadership of opposition parties failing to win seats, including Mohammad Abdul Jalil (Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal), Rashed Khan Menon, Kazi Zafar Ahmed and Aleem al-Razee (National Awami Party (Bhashani)), and Suranjit Sengupta (National Awami Party (Muzaffar)).

Campaign

In its election manifesto, the Awami League focused on four principles, nationalism, democracy, socialism and secularism. The pro-Soviet National Awami Party (Muzaffar) and Communist Party of Bangladesh highlighted concerns regarding corruption, political repression and the deterioration of law and order. Due to their alignment with the Awami League on fundamental policy matters, they were often considered the "B team" of the Awami League. The pro-Chinese National Awami Party (Bhashani) and Jatiya League concentrated on Indo-Bangladesh relations, leveraging the growing anti-India sentiment in the country. The campaign of the leftist Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) centred around the theme of scientific socialism. During the campaign, which was marred by violence and allegations of voter intimidation, the parties accused each other of being foreign agents involved in conspiracies against the country's interests.

Among the competing parties, only the Awami League was able to field 300 candidates, covering all elected seats. This was followed by 237 candidates from the JSD, 224 from NAP-M, 169 from NAP-B and the remainder from other parties, as well as 120 independent candidates.

Conduct

Prior to the elections, some opposition candidates in marginal constituencies were kidnapped by Awami League supporters before they were able to submit their nomination papers. In some constituencies where opposition candidates were leading in the vote count, counting was abruptly stopped, ballot boxes were stuffed with fake papers and the Awami League candidates were declared winners amid the strong presence of Awami League volunteers.

It was generally believed that the Awami League, with the appeal of Sheikh Mujib and its instrumental role in the independence of Bangladesh, would have easily won the elections without manipulation. However, the overwhelming margin of Awami League's victory was unexpected.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				General	Reserved	Total	+/–
	Awami League	13,798,717	73.20	293	15	308	+10
	National Awami Party (Muzaffar)	1,569,299	8.32	0	0	0	New
	Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal	1,229,110	6.52	1	0	1	New
	National Awami Party (Bhashani)	1,002,771	5.32	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Jatiya League	62,354	0.33	1	0	1	+1
	Bangla Jatiya League	53,097	0.28	0	0	0	New
	Communist Party of Bangladesh	47,211	0.25	0	0	0	New
	Sramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal	38,421	0.20	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Communist Party (Leninist)	18,619	0.10	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Shramik Federation	17,271	0.09	0	0	0	New
	Banglar Communist Party	11,911	0.06	0	0	0	New
	Bangla Chattra Union	7,564	0.04	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Jatiya Congress	3,761	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Jatiya Ganatantrik Dal	1,818	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Independents	989,884	5.25	5	0	5	–2
Total		18,851,808	100.00	300	15	315	+5
Valid votes		18,851,808	97.53
Invalid/blank votes		477,875	2.47
Total votes		19,329,683	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		35,205,642	54.91
Source: Nohlen et al., Government of Bangladesh, Kumar Panday

Vote share by district

All 300 members of the parliament were men, and 15 additional seats were reserved for women. These women members were not directly elected; instead, they were chosen by the parliament and affiliated with the Awami League. Of the parliament members, 32% were lawyers, 20% were in business, 13% were agriculturalists, 12% were social workers and trade unionists, 9% were doctors, 6% were teachers, 6% were journalists, 1% were engineers, and 1% were students.

Aftermath

The election results demoralized the opposition parties. Afterward, the National Awami Party (Muzaffar) and the Communist Party of Bangladesh went back to seek an alliance with the Awami League and formed a unified front called Gono Oikya Jote. The National Awami Party (Bhashani) tried and failed to launch a mass movement against the Awami League. However, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal proved to be a strong force against the regime. Various left-wing factions also continued to oppose the government.

The popularity of Mujib, which played a crucial role in the Awami League's victory, led to a significant centralization of power within his inner circle, consisting of close relatives and companions. The Jatiya Sangsad had minimal involvement in policy formation, as Mujib and his associates managed even routine matters. The overwhelming victory of the Awami League was further overshadowed by the implementation of repressive special powers and activities of the Rakkhi Bahini, a group of government-armed vigilantes with judicial immunity. This group targeted anyone who opposed the Awami League or its affiliated parties. By the end of 1974 there were approximately 30,000 political prisoners and all criticism of the government in the public media was silenced by law, and a state of emergency was declared. Political assassinations became increasingly common, with around 5,000 reported in the year 1974 according to government estimates. Several prominent opposition leaders, including Siraj Sikder (the founder of the Proletarian Party of East Bengal) and Mosharraf Hossain (the founding vice-president of the JSD), were assassinated.

As the political and economic conditions of the country worsened, Mujib's popularity started to erode, and he started to face widespread criticism. In February 1975, Mujib revoked the constitution, assumed dictatorial powers and banned all political parties except for his newly formed party, Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League. Within two years of the first general election, Bangladesh had ceased to be a democratic country.

See also

• List of members of the 1st Jatiya Sangsad

References

1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p535 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
2. Government of Bangladesh (1991). A Background Paper on Bangladesh Parliamentary Elections. Dhaka: Press Information Department (Handout No. 429).
3. ^ Huque, Ahmed Shafiqul; Hakim, Muhammad A. (1993). "Elections in Bangladesh: Tools of Legitimacy". Asian Affairs. 19 (4): 248–261. ISSN 0092-7678.
4. ^ Jahan, Rounaq (1974). "Bangladesh in 1973: Management of Factional Politics". Asian Survey. 14 (2): 125–35. doi:10.2307/2643085. JSTOR 2643085.
5. Franda, Marcus (1982). Bangladesh: The First Decade. Universities Field Staff International. p. 54.
6. ^ "Election Summary Bangladesh 1973" (PDF). Inter-Parliamentary Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-09-20. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
7. ^ Maniruzzaman, Talukder (1975). "Bangladesh: An Unfinished Revolution?". The Journal of Asian Studies. 34 (4). Cambridge University Press: 891–911. doi:10.2307/2054506. ISSN 0021-9118. JSTOR 2054506. S2CID 154434833.
8. Moten, A. Rashid (1981). "Parliamentary Elections in Bangladesh". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 42 (2): 58–73. JSTOR 41855836.
9. ^ Rashiduzzaman, M. (1979). "The Political Evolution of Bangladesh". Current History. 76 (446): 164–184. ISSN 0011-3530. JSTOR 45314698.
10. ^ Mathieu, G. K. (1976). "Palace Revolution Continued". Economic and Political Weekly. 11 (17): 623–627. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4364564.
11. "Rahman Gets New Laws Against Opposition" (PDF). Intercontinental Press. 1974-03-04. pp. 237–238. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-10.

v t e Elections and referendums in Bangladesh
General elections	1920 1923 1926 1930 1934 1937 1945 1946 1954 1962 1965 1970 1973 1979 1986 1988 1991 1996 (Feb) 1996 (Jun) 2001 2008 2014 2018 2024 Next
Presidential elections	1978 1981 1986
Local elections	1973 1977 1983–84 1985 1988 1990 1994 1997 2000 2003 2009 2011 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2020–21 2024–25
Referendums	1977 1985 1991

• 1973 elections in Bangladesh
• General elections in Bangladesh
• 1973 elections in Asia