On 12 June 1996 general elections were held for 300 seats of the 330 member Parliament (AFP 20 May 1996; ibid. 22 May 1996; ibid. 14 July 1996). Thirty parliamentary seats are set aside for nominated women members (IPS 30 July 1996). For more background information on the parliamentary and electoral system in Bangladesh, please consult the December 1996 DIRB Question and Answer Series paper

Bangladesh: Political Developments and Political Violence.

Please find attached the 12 June 1996 Parliamentary election results by constituency that was downloaded on 3 March 1999 from the Virtual Bangladesh Internet Website. For the most part, each constituency lists the area, name of winning candidate (party affiliation and number of votes) and name of runner-up (party affiliation and number of votes). Please note that results are only provided for the 300 general seats (not the 30 seats reserved for women).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP).14 July 1996. Nadeem Qadir. "Tensions Over President's Speech Cloud Opening of Parliament." (NEXIS)

_____. 22 May 1996. "Bangladeshi Politicians Return to Campaign After Minor Army Revolt." (NEXIS)

_____. 20 May 1996. "Elections to Go Ahead: Bangladesh President." (NEXIS)

Inter Press Service (IPS). 30 July 1996. Tabibul Islam. "Bangladesh: Opposition Shoots Down Premier Wajed's Truce Offer." (NEXIS)

Attachment

Virtual Bangladesh. http://www.virtualbangladesh.com. 19 June 1996. "Politics: Election Results by Constituency." (Last updated 25 Mar. 1998).