Politics

The politics of Bangladesh takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Constitution of Bangladesh was written in 1972 and has undergone thirteen amendments.

Executive Branch

The President is the head of state, a largely ceremonial post. The real power is held by the Prime Minister, who is the head of government. The President is elected by the legislature every five years and has normally limited powers that are substantially expanded during the tenure of a caretaker government, mainly in controlling the transition to a new government. Bangladesh has instituted a unique system of transfer of power; at the end of the tenure of the government, power is handed over to members of a civil society for three months, who run the general elections and transfer the power to elected representatives. This system was first practiced in 1991 and adopted to the constitution in 1996.

The Prime Minister is ceremonially appointed by the President and must be a member of parliament (MP), commanding the confidence of the majority of the MPs. The cabinet is composed of ministers selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president.

Legislative Branch

The legislature is a unicameral, 300-seat body: the Jatiyo Sangshad. The 300 members are elected by universal suffrage at least every 5 years. There is universal suffrage for all citizens from the age of 18.

On 16 May 2004, the Jatiyo Sangshad (the national parliament) passed the 14th constitutional amendment to reintroduce quotas for women. The number of seats in parliament is to be raised to 345, 45 (13%) of which will be reserved for women in the next parliament. The seats will be allocated to parties in proportion to their overall share of the vote. Until 2001 a system of reserved seats for women was used, where 30 seats out of 330 were reserved to women (chosen by indirect election by the 300 directly elected MPs). This quota system was first introduced by the 1972 Constitution (originally providing for 15 reserved seats for women, out of 315 seats, for a period of 10 years).

Judicial Branch

The highest judiciary body is the Supreme Court, whose Chief Justices and other judges are appointed by the President. The Judiciary is not separate from the administration, which has caused much commotion in recent years. Laws are loosely based on English common law, but family laws such as marriage and inheritance are based on religious scripts, and hence differ from one religious community to another.

Foreign Policy

Bangladesh pursues a moderate foreign policy that places heavy reliance on multinational diplomacy, especially at the United Nations. Bangladesh joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1974 and continues to participate in meetings and discussions. In 1974, Bangladesh was admitted into the United Nations and was elected to a Security Council term in 1978 and again for a 2000-2002 term.

Bangladesh is also one of the founding members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The government of Bangladesh decided on expanding relations with its South Asian members. Since then, Bangladesh has participated in serving as chairmanship of SAARC and ongoing regional activities. Bangladesh has the closest ties to India and Pakistan.

India was Bangladesh's key ally in the Bangladeshi Independence War of 1971 and even after the war provided military and reconstruction aide to the country. Throughout the years, relations between both countries continue fluctuating as ongoing border disputes and insurgency plague both nations. Bangladesh claims that India feels too comfortable in playing the role of 'Big Brother' to smaller, weaker nations and India accuses Bangladesh over harbouring Indian separatists hiding in Bangladesh. Nevertheless, recent peace agreements and strategic economic cooperatives have somewhat eased tensions.

Pakistan, despite sharing a gruesome history with Bangladesh, remains as one of its most important allies. Repatriation and diplomatic agreements after the war in 1971 has allowed for more peaceful relations between both countries. However, some advocates of Bangladesh still seek apologies from Pakistan for war crimes and brutality by the Pakistani army against Bangladeshi civilians.

Military

The Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force are composed of regular military personnel. Some of the senior officers and non-commissioned officers served in the Military of Pakistan before the 1971 independence war. Senior officers include 'repatriates' who were interned in Pakistan during the war, and freedom fighters that fought against Pakistan.

In addition to traditional defence roles, the military has been called on to provide support to civil authorities for disaster relief and internal security. The current strength of the army is set to be about 200,000, the air force 7000, and navy 14,950. There was a 2,300 Bangladeshi contingency that fought along with coalition forces in the 1991 Gulf War and Bangldesh plays an important role in UN peacekeeping forces around the world. Bangladesh is currently the largest contributor of the UN peace keeping force and has stationed troops in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Somalia, Haiti, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The government of Bangladesh agreed to send 3,196 troops to Liberia in April 2007 and 3,171 more soon after.