1991 Bangladeshi constitutional referendum
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Should or not the President assent to the Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Bill, 1991 of the People's Republic of Bangladesh? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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A constitutional referendum was held in Bangladesh on 15 September 1991. Voters were asked "Should or not the President assent to the Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Bill, 1991 of the People's Republic of Bangladesh?" The amendments would lead to the reintroduction of parliamentary government, with the President becoming the constitutional head of state, but the Prime Minister the executive head. It also abolished the position of vice-president and would see the President elected by Parliament.
The result saw 83.6% vote in favour, with a turnout of 35.2%.[1]
Background
Sheikh
On 8 December 1990, President
The Awami League, incorrectly expecting that its organisational strength would allow it to win the elections, favoured a parliamentary system, a change that would require the support of two-thirds of the members of the new parliament and the voters' approval of a referendum. The BNP argued for the continuation of the presidential system.
Following the elections, the BNP held 168 seats, the Awami League 88, the Jatiya Party 35, and Jamaat-e-Islami 20. With the BNP winning a clear majority in the 330-seat Parliament, BNP leader
As a result, on 2 July the BNP introduced the Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Bill 1991. The Awami League also put forward its own constitutional amendment bill. A 15-member select committee was formed to resolve the differences.[2] The committee produced a unanimous report and placed it before the Parliament on 6 August for approval. After two rounds of voting, the bill was passed by 307 votes to none, and the amendment was then put to a referendum.
Results
Choice | Votes | % |
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For | 18,308,377 | 83.6 |
Against | 3,390,062 | 15.5 |
Invalid/blank votes | 189,998 | 0.9 |
Total | 21,888,437 | 100 |
Registered voters/turnout | 62,204,118 | 35.2 |
Source: Nohlen et al. |
Aftermath
Since the amendment, critics have argued that the reform did not assure meaningful multiparty participation in lawmaking, as the ruling party often chose to bypass the parliament in making major laws, including the 1994 Anti-Terrorist Bill, by promulgating ordinances instead of submitting proposed legislation to parliamentary committees for scrutiny. Opposition parties also often boycotted the Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth parliaments.[3]
References
- ISBN 0-19-924958-X
- JSTOR 2645214.
- S2CID 67779420.