Editing Politics of Bangladesh (section)

====1991–1996: Khaleda Zia====
{{main|First Khaleda Cabinet}}
The center-right BNP won a plurality of seats in the [[1991 Bangladeshi general election|1991 Bangladesh General Election]] and formed a coalition government with the Islamic party [[Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh]], with [[Khaleda Zia]], widow of Ziaur Rahman, obtaining the post of prime minister. Only four parties had more than 10 members elected to the 1991 Parliament: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia; the Awami League, led by [[Sheikh Hasina]]; the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), led by [[Golam Azam]]; and the Jatiya Party (JP), led by acting chairman [[Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury]] while its founder, former President Ershad, served out a prison sentence on corruption charges. The electorate approved still more changes to the constitution, formally re-creating a parliamentary system and returning governing power to the office of the prime minister, as in Bangladesh's original 1972 constitution. In October 1991, members of Parliament elected a new head of state, President [[Abdur Rahman Biswas]].

In March 1994, controversy over a parliamentary by-election, which the opposition claimed the government had rigged, led to an indefinite [[boycott]] of Parliament by the entire opposition. The opposition also began a program of repeated general strikes to press its demand that Khaleda Zia's government resign and a caretaker government supervise a general election. Efforts to mediate the dispute, under the auspices of the [[Commonwealth Secretariat]], failed. After another attempt at a negotiated settlement failed narrowly in late December 1994, the opposition resigned en masse from Parliament. The opposition then continued a campaign of Marches, demonstrations, and [[Strike action|strikes]] in an effort to force the government to resign. The year 1995 observed nearly 200 days of general strikes disrupting the countries normal activities. The opposition, including the Awami League's Sheikh Hasina, pledged to boycott national elections scheduled for 15 February 1996.

In February, Khaleda Zia was re-elected for the second term by a landslide in voting boycotted and denounced as unfair by the three main opposition parties. In March 1996, following escalating political turmoil, the sitting Parliament enacted a constitutional amendment to allow a neutral caretaker government to assume power conduct new parliamentary elections; former Chief Justice [[Muhammad Habibur Rahman]] was named [[Chief Advisor of Bangladesh|Chief Advisor]] (a position equivalent to prime minister) in the interim government. New parliamentary elections were held in June 1996, and were won by the Awami League; party leader Sheikh Hasina became prime minister.