NA 2007); following
legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most
seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president
election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared by the Election Commission
elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote
- NA

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected
by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the
constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above
the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve
five-year terms
elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held before October
2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance
partners 47%, AL 40%; seats by party - BNP 195, AL 58, JI 17, JP
(Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 3, JP (Naziur) 4, other 9; note - the
election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned
with three other smaller parties - Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Oikya
Jote, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by
the president)

Political parties and leaders:
Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or
BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP
[Khaleda ZIA, chairperson]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul
Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya
Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party
(Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory),
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB,
OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Shamsher Mobin CHOWDHURY
chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183
FAX: [1] (202) 244-5366
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Harry K. THOMAS, Jr.
embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212
mailing address: