President of Bangladesh
Awami League won 146 seats in the 1996 parliamentary elections. The support
of the Jatiya Party and a few independent candidates were enough for the 150 or
more seats needed for the required majority. Hasina took the oath as the prime
minister of Bangladesh. She vowed to create a
Government of National Unity.
Though some smaller parties and a few individuals from BNP did join the
government, the distance between the main two political parties (as well as
their leaders) remained as large as ever.
The Awami League succumbed to a landslide defeat in the 2001 Parliament
elections. It won only 62 seats in the Parliament, while the Four Party
Alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won more than 200 seats,
giving them a two-third majority in the Parliament. Hasina herself was defeated
from a constituency in Rangpur, which happened to contain her husband's
hometown, but won from three other seats. Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League
rejected the results, claiming that the election was rigged with the help of
the President and the Caretaker government. However, the international
community was largely satisfied with the elections and the Four Party Alliance
went on to form the government.
In December 2008 election, Sheikh Hasina's party won 230 seats giving them
the two-third majority in the parliament. She made an alliance with JP and left
fronts and her grand alliance won 252 seats in the parliament. Sheikh Hasina
took oath as Prime Minister on 6 January 2009.
