1979 Bangladeshi general election

← 1973 18 February 1979 1986 →
300 of the 330 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad 151 seats needed for a majority
Registered	38,363,858
Turnout	51.29% (3.62pp)
First party Second party   Leader Ziaur Rahman Asaduzzaman Khan Party BNP AL Last election – 293 seats Seats won 207 39 Seat change New 256 Popular vote 7,934,236 4,734,277 Percentage 41.17% 24.56%
President of Bangladesh before election Ziaur Rahman BNP Prime Minister of Bangladesh Shah Azizur Rahman BNP

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Constitution and Law Amendments Law of Bangladesh Bangladesh Code Penal Code Human rights Article 70 Judicial review
Government President: Mohammed Shahabuddin Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina Cabinet: Hasina V Taxation Agencies Civil Service Local governments
Parliament Speaker: Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury Leader of the House: Sheikh Hasina Leader of the Opposition: GM Quader
Judiciary Supreme Court: Appellate Division High Court Division District courts Metropolitan courts Chief Justice: Obaidul Hassan Attorney General: AM Amin Uddin Bangladesh Bar Council
Administrative divisions Divisions Districts Subdistricts Local Councils
Elections Parliamentary constituencies Election commission General elections: 2018 2024 Next in 2029 Presidential elections: 2018 2023 Next in 2028 Political parties
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Diplomatic missions of / in Bangladesh Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy Foreign relations Bangladeshi diaspora
Bangladesh portal Other countries
v t e

General elections were held in Bangladesh on 18 February 1979. The result was a victory for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which won 207 of the 300 directly elected seats. Voter turnout was 51%.^[1][2] The Awami League became the main opposition party after winning 39 seats.^[3]

With almost all parties participating, the elections were deemed credible by observers.^[4]

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				General	Reserved	Total	+/–
	Bangladesh Nationalist Party	7,934,236	41.17	207	30	237	New
	Awami League	4,734,277	24.56	39	0	39	–269
	Bangladesh Muslim League–Islamic Democratic League	1,941,394	10.07	20	0	20	New
	Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal	931,851	4.83	8	0	8	+7
	Awami League (Mizan)	535,426	2.78	2	0	2	New
	National Awami Party (Muzaffar)	432,514	2.24	1	0	1	New
	United Peoples' Party	170,955	0.89	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Gono Front	115,622	0.60	2	0	2	New
	National Awami Party (Nurur-Zahid)	88,385	0.46	0	0	0	New
	Communist Party of Bangladesh	75,455	0.39	0	0	0	0
	Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist–Leninist)	74,771	0.39	1	0	1	New
	Bangladesh Jatiya League	69,319	0.36	2	0	2	+1
	Jatiya Ekata Party	44,459	0.23	1	0	1	New
	Bangladesh Ganatantrik Andolan	34,259	0.18	1	0	1	New
	Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal	27,259	0.14	0	0	0	New
	National Awami Party (Naser)	25,336	0.13	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Janata Dal	18,748	0.10	0	0	0	New
	National Republican Party for Parity	14,429	0.07	0	0	0	New
	Jatiya Janata Party	10,932	0.06	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Labour Party	7,738	0.04	0	0	0	New
	People's Democratic Party	5,703	0.03	0	0	0	New
	Sramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal	4,954	0.03	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Democratic Party	3,564	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Jatiya Mukti Party	3,363	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Tanti Samity	1,834	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Nezam-e-Islam Party	1,575	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Gano Azadi League	1,378	0.01	0	0	0	New
	United Republican Party	389	0.00	0	0	0	New
	Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chashi Dal	130	0.00	0	0	0	New
	Independents	1,963,345	10.19	16	0	16	+15
Total		19,273,600	100.00	300	30	330	+15
Valid votes		19,273,600	97.95
Invalid/blank votes		402,524	2.05
Total votes		19,676,124	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		38,363,858	51.29
Source: Nohlen et al., IPU, Government of Bangladesh