Dhaka, Feb 16 (V7N) — In the 13th National Parliamentary elections of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) contested 290 seats and received 49.97% of the votes individually, while the BNP-led coalition secured 51.1% of the total votes. Jamaat-e-Islami, contesting 227 seats, garnered 31.76% of votes, with the Jamaat-led coalition receiving 38.5%.

The Nationalist Coalition Party (NCP), contesting 32 seats, obtained 3.05% of votes, while the Islami Andolan, led by the Chormonai Pir and contesting 257 seats, secured 2.7%. Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, contesting 34 seats, received 2.09% of the votes. Among the remaining 45 parties, none managed more than 1% of the votes. The National Party, previously the main opposition, contested 199 seats and earned 0.89% of votes. The other faction of Khelafat Majlis, contesting 20 seats, gained 0.76% of votes.

Alongside the elections, a referendum was conducted on the implementation of the July Constitution. About 68% of voters approved the reforms. Following the “Yes” victory, the upper house of parliament is to be formed in proportion to the vote share. BNP, however, has expressed its intent to implement the upper house based on seat allocation rather than vote share, a position reaffirmed by BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman last Saturday.

The November 13 order had stipulated that if the referendum results in a “Yes,” the caretaker government must implement the July Constitution reforms, including appointing officials to the Election Commission, Public Service Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General, judiciary, and Anti-Corruption Commission. According to the reforms, the upper house of 100 seats must be formed proportionally based on each political party’s vote share. Constitutional amendments require approval by a majority of the upper house.

Eight reforms were subject to dissent, with BNP issuing a note of dissent in all but the Election Commission-related reforms. The order mandates implementation of the eight reforms if the referendum passes.

For upper house seat allocation, only parties receiving at least 1% of the votes qualify. Independent candidates and others are excluded from this calculation. Accordingly, BNP would receive 55.78% of upper house seats, Jamaat 35.45%, NCP 3.4%, Islami Andolan 3.01%, and Bangladesh Khelafat 2.33%, resulting in 56, 36, 3, 3, and 2 seats respectively. The 50 reserved seats in the upper house are distributed proportionally, rounding fractions to full seats where applicable.

BNP prefers allocation based on parliamentary seats, which would result in parties receiving one upper house seat per three parliamentary seats. Under this system, Bangladesh Khelafat and Islami Andolan would not gain representation. Similarly, parties like Gonodhikar Parishad, Gonoshonghoti Andolon, BJP, and other Khelafat factions would not receive seats.

Of the 48 proposed reforms of the July Constitution, 30 enjoy unanimous support from all parties. With the referendum passing, these reforms, along with the first eight from the initial two parts, are now mandatory. The remaining 10 reforms with dissent are not compulsory despite the referendum.

Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad rejected BNP’s proposal to allocate upper house seats based on parliamentary seats, stating that the dissent of various parties necessitated the referendum. Former Consensus Commission member Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar confirmed that the referendum mandates implementation of the 38 reforms with majority support, ensuring that BNP will secure sufficient representation in the upper house to amend the Constitution as per the July Charter.

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